


How to fall in love with your best friend.

by ashen_girl44



Category: Ugly Betty
Genre: Best Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-09-18 09:22:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 100,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9378326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashen_girl44/pseuds/ashen_girl44
Summary: Set mid-season 4. What if Daniel realized earlier that he and his best friend were meant to be. And what if the universe seems to be disagreeing with them (along with various others), will the detty bond survive?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Finding Rosa is still being posted, as usual, but this is going to be updated slower than that.  
> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!

Daniel sat on the front of his steps, looking at his hands as well as the wilting roses by his side on the stone. The cold of the stone steps sent chills even through his suit, however he didn’t seem to notice. He was worried, of course he would be. It wasn’t like it was natural for her just not to turn up, when she was the queen of organisation, the person who wrote for something to happen weeks in advance. Sure, it was last week when she had suggested it, since it was the first time she had actually stepped foot inside his office for over two weeks, but she ought to remember, she remembered what she had for dinner two weeks ago, and how much it cost, but she couldn’t remember the first dinner date as just friends they had in two weeks. It did hurt.  
  
He looked at his phone, there was nothing from Betty, nothing from anyone. He had Amanda, who was fine with their arrangement, but it wasn’t enough to sustain him. It wasn’t enough for him to be happy with, he didn’t want a shallow fling, although that was fine enough to heal the emotional scars before he jumped into a real relationship.  
  
It just seemed so fickle, what he once found beautiful. Those women with their vacant stares and impressionable attitudes by anyone who had a say in print, but he wanted something, someone real. Someone like Betty. He wasn’t going to try with her because she was with matt, and as much as he thought all Hartley men were assholes he wasn’t about to break up a relationship by being possessive over his best friend.  
  
He could have any woman he wanted, whether or not she was a real woman or 95% plastic, he was Daniel Meade; he could pull just by blinking at someone, it wouldn’t take much. He needed to learn how not to break someone’s heart, though. He liked to think that he had learnt from his time with molly, but it wasn’t enough because he couldn’t save her in the end. So, what good was he? He used to toss women’s hearts like they were recyclable, but now he couldn’t imagine doing this, thanks to Betty and molly he cared a lot more about other human beings. Betty knew he wanted a family, but he also needed assistance for people to not see him as the playboy everyone still thought he was.  
  
He did regret his past, there were many times where his decisions had been compromised because of his checkered past, however it didn’t seem right that people should still judge him on that. He was a changed man, everyone who was close to him knew that. Even Amanda knew that, and she was having a causal relationship with him.  
  
He needed to call Betty if he was going to get anything done this night. Daniel was supposed to take her out to her favourite restaurant, as the last time she had seen him was in a staff briefing where he was constantly having to argue with Wilhelmina, and where Betty practically ran out of the conference room before he had a chance to talk to her, or even say how much Wilhelmina said her pitch was ‘sappier than a maple tree’ was Wilhelmina being a bitch. But, she hadn’t showed, and although she was supposed to be at matt’s art show thing, it had been earlier and should have finished by now. Daniel knew not to overreact, especially considering he tended to do that over Betty, she would have probably gone home with matt or something, but he would call just in case.  
  
He knew that he would probably get a reply if he called the Suarez home, he didn’t want to interrupt Betty and matt doing… anything. He listened for the connecting call to start ringing the home phone.  
  
“hello?” came the response from Hilda, who sounded unusually tearful. Daniel may have had limited contact with Betty ever since coming back from the Bahamas however, he still cared for her family, and that didn’t mean he would ignore it if Hilda sounded like she had been crying. Her family had been so good to him, both Hilda and Ignacio comforting him over the loss of molly, since they had experienced their own personal tragedies.  
  
“Hilda, are you okay? You sound as if you have been crying?” Daniel asked, picking up the flowers from the step, and leaning against the front door before opening it.  
  
“I am fine, don’t you worry about me?” she said, her tone trying to be convincing, however it was clear she wasn’t going to be convincing anyone. He heard the sound of her clearing her throat. “anyway, why are you calling?” Daniel swallowed.  
  
He didn’t want to tell Hilda about Betty standing him up, even though it wasn’t a real date- but mostly because he would seem pathetic, and neurotic. Which, is exactly what he was. “erm, I just wanted to talk to Betty,” he could hear the sharp intake of breath from Hilda, which made it obvious she knew about it, before she even said anything.  
  
“you were supposed to have dinner with her today, weren’t you?”  
  
“maybe,” Daniel admitted, biting his lip as he went into molly’s old apartment, that may be cleared out, however it didn’t matter because it still reminded him of molly.  
  
“why don’t you come over? she could use some company,” Hilda suggested, although he could hear the sound of sniffing in the background.  
  
“are you sure? Is she okay?” Daniel asked, if Betty was at home then she was okay… however he was worried about her still, if matt had upset her, he wasn’t going to let it fix it by itself. He loved Betty, whether that be platonic which it had remained for, for many years, he never stood for assholes like matt Hartley to repetitively hurt his best friend, who had never done anything more sinister a betrayal than kiss henry. He knew that if he was in matt’s position he would be mad at her, but he could use the excuse that he watched henry repetitively hurt Betty and not be able to smack him in the face for every time he did that.  
  
“she and matt had a little disagreement over the show,”  
  
“I wish I could have been there,” Daniel sighed, wanting to see matt’s humiliation first hand. He saw some of the pictures Amanda had bought, promising him one that he hadn’t even seen yet, but would bet the deed to his house that it was going to be a nude of his best friend- especially considering the other type of pictures Amanda had bought. There was some curious part of Daniel that wanted to see that desperately, and if it was like any of the other pictures Amanda had bought Daniel was sorely missing something.  
  
He heard a chuckle from Hilda, as he imagined Hilda’s smile, it was almost as good as Betty’s. “yeah, I wish you were too. Why don’t you come over, bring takeout?”  
  
“do you think just because I am rich you are going to get free takeout?” Daniel asked, smiling broadly, which was a change from the self-reflection that ultimately ended in misery of the day before.  
  
“erm… yes, you will do anything for Betty. Oh, bring Thai, I will leave the front door unlocked okay?” she said, hanging up before Daniel had a chance to agree. He sighed loudly, however, he was still grinning like a complete idiot.  
  
There was some part of him, who felt hurt that Betty herself didn’t want to invite him there, and not even be the one to talk to him over the phone. True, he didn’t call her, but he hoped that Betty might have considered contacting him if she was having a problem with matt, although from previous experiences he wasn’t the best person to deal with Hartley drama. Betty did say he looked cute in a bunny costume though, maybe just because his best friend was totally obsessed with rabbits.  
  
He smiled again, taking the key out from the lock. He could come in full ‘just friend’s dinner’ attire, and hopefully the flowers (yellow, with a red tip. The person at the florist said it could indicate friendship, or falling in love- in his explanation he wouldn’t mention that part) would cheer her up a bit. He called the town car, and as it drew up he also contacted Betty’s favourite Thai take-out place for delivery in Queens.  
  
Betty sat in her room, carefully editing pages of her diary in between bursts of tears that streaked her makeup as they fell down her face. She couldn’t believe how badly it had gone. She had practically ruined all chances of having matt forgive her, because he still acted as if she owed him for something. For breaking his heart, she could understand, but if he said jump he wouldn’t even expect her to ask how high.  
  
She was going to show him that she did have passion for their relationships, as although the drawings were very disturbing as there was a full-frontal nude that she was sure Amanda had purchased, which left Betty wondering if Amanda hadn’t been the only one taking photos of her secretly. Determination, and perseverance was something Betty had always been good at, which she explained as something which had aided Daniel to clean up his act, although she would admit molly had a big part to do with that.  
  
So, she was busy censoring her diary. She had left in the parts where she wrote matt a sonnet, or called him a cretin. That showed emotion, and passion, right? But, it didn’t look so good considering most of the recent entries in the diary were about Daniel, in graphic detail, which would have lost all hope she would have of a relationship with matt, or even Daniel if he saw it.  
  
Betty sighed, once again running the ruler along the edge of the page for a clean separation from the spine. She just hoped matt wouldn’t try and look at any of the other pages, or even the rest of the page she wanted to show to him. True, she had written a sonnet for matt, however she had also described quite a dirty dream about Daniel, who had taken her out for dinner the day before.  
  
“Betty, get your ass down here! You have a visitor,” she heard Hilda’s loud shout, even with the argument she had with Papi and the revelation with bobby she didn’t hesitate to yell. Betty sighed, putting the diary roughly under the bed as she half expected marc or Amanda to come to the door, holding another one of matt’s creepy paintings aloft.  
  
Instead she ran down the stairs to be met with Thai food from her favourite place, with roses… and Daniel. Daniel… who she was supposed to go to dinner with, but was busy being preoccupied by matt being mean. One of the reasons why Betty loved Daniel is no matter what the tabloids or Suzuki said he would always have a really good heart. She stood him up, so he arrived with her favourite take-out as well as a smile on his face, and flowers.  
  
“Daniel. I am so sorry!” she said, her initial smile when she saw Daniel faltered.  
  
“it is okay, Hilda told me about the whole fiasco. I figured that I should come over here to try and console you. Although, fair warning, Amanda did buy one of the paintings for me, so I am not quite sure what to expect,” he chuckled. Betty squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that Daniel would have forgotten all about it, judging by the laughs from Hilda and Daniel it hadn’t worked.  
  
“I don’t know what to think either about the painting, but thanks for the food,” Betty sighed, sitting at the table as Ignacio walked into the room, raising his eyebrows at the food and Betty’s boss dressed as if he was going out. Betty looked, scrutinising her own outfit, which consisted of her ratty dressing gown and messed up hair. Even if Daniel had been wearing the same thing he would have looked irresistibly attractive.  
  
“wait didn’t Amanda buy that one where matt painted your boobs?” Hilda asked, met with glares from Ignacio and Betty, but laughter from Daniel.  
  
“what it was tasteful, if a little creepy,”  
  
“please, Hilda. I don’t need reminding, I was just pleased Justin wasn’t there.” Ignacio rolled his eyes, throughout the entire show he had been throwing some pretty murderous glances towards matt, granting; he hadn’t been the only one.  
  
“okay, okay. I think that is enough. Daniel, I am so glad you weren’t there, it was mortifying,” Betty put her head in her hands, then reached for the noodles.  
  
“okay, but Amanda did send me a picture of one of the paintings she bought,” Daniel chuckled, seeing Betty’s eyes go wide, as she went so white she could have fainted and no one would have been surprised.  
  
“oh no! I could have sworn that she bought the actual nude painting of me!” Betty sighed, while Daniel’s expression only told of happiness, but it didn’t stop Hilda from giving him a smack for his cheek as she noticed the fleeting grin across his face.  
  
“right, I think I know what painting she is going to give me,” Daniel laughed at Betty’s stunned expression that was halfway to pleading.  
  
“Daniel… please, please tell me that she isn’t planning to give you that?” Betty paused loading her plate with snow peas.  
  
“ah, I think she was planning for it to be a surprise,” Daniel chuckled, but stopped laughing when Betty flicked snow peas onto his suit. “erm, excuse me, what was that for?” he picked up a noodle, flinging that too, at her.  
  
She giggled, scooping a spoonful of the soup up, however before she was about to throw that at Daniel, Ignacio walked back into the room, raising his eyebrows. Instead of directing the spoons contents at Daniel, she brought it to her mouth slurping the soup. Betty smiled at Daniel, taking his plate and bringing it to the couch where Hilda was sitting.  
  
“so, boss man. Where do you want the roses?” Ignacio asked, holding them up in a vase, Daniel hadn’t even officially given them to Betty yet, they were too busy almost starting a food fight.  
  
“are they for me, or just your accessory?” she asked, putting the plates down on the coffee table and walking up to Daniel.  
  
“nope, these are for you. The florist said they signify friendship,” he said, putting them down in front of Betty. Betty smiled, gently touching the petals as she bent over to smell the roses. Hilda rolled her eyes and made not so discreet gagging noises, as Daniel collapsed on the worn couch next to Betty, reaching for his own plate of food. When they had nearly finished their meal, only the occasional comment being made about the film Daniel gently nudged the exhausted Betty with his shoulder. She blinked rapidly, jumping slightly as she woke up. “so, did I come and cheer you up enough?” Daniel asked, as Betty blinked tiredly. Daniel glanced at the clock in her living room, it was nearly midnight, which wasn’t at all surprising.  
  
“yeah, I am just tired now,” she too looked at the clock, sleepily rubbing her eyes. “Daniel, do you want to stay here tonight? You don’t have to, but I thought it would be easier than getting a town car or a helicopter home,” she yawned, falling asleep again against Daniel, her head ending up in his lap.  
  
“a helicopter?” he laughed. Exhausted Betty was the best, she was so damn adorable, even in that weird dressing gown.  
  
“you know… ‘cos your rich,” she sighed against him, burrowing deeper into his lap. Daniel was starting to get a little bit uncomfortable with Betty’s placement of her perfect mouth, especially when it was so subconsciously near his… he grunted, pushing Betty up in her seat so she wasn’t so close to him. She might be his best friend, and in love with another guy, but he was a man… and despite her braces and her rather adorable bed head Betty was quite obviously a woman.  
  
“right, sleep time for you!” Daniel picked her up, quite literally scooping her up in his arms before he carried her upstairs. Betty came to slightly, noticing everyone apart from Daniel had gone to bed, and now it was just them in her bedroom.  
  
“Daniel… what are you doing in my bedroom?” she asked, squinting, knocking her glasses askew on her face as she rubbed her eyes.  
  
“I carried you to bed. You need some sleep, and you told me it was too late to go to back to my house in my helicopter,” Daniel enjoyed seeing Betty blush, as she sat up against her pillows, scooting over.  
  
“where are, you going to sleep?”  
  
“probably the couch, why?” Daniel said, sitting on the edge of her bed, she took off her glasses, placing them on the end of her bedside table.  
  
“why don’t you sleep here?” Betty knew she was playing a dangerous game, but she liked to think that she could control herself for the portion of one night. If only Daniel didn’t look so displeased at the idea.  
  
“erm… I don’t think your dad is going to be very happy about that?” he asked, however didn’t make any kind of stance towards leaving the room.  
  
“he won’t mind. Daniel, in case you haven’t noticed, because sometimes I do wonder, we are both adults. So, we can sleep where we want, but if you would rather sleep on the couch?”  
  
“no!” Daniel answered quickly, however he smiled at the half-asleep Betty. “I would rather sleep here, but you need to stop making cracks about my age,”  
  
“I was saying how you act immature, that is a good thing… it kind of evens it out a bit, don’t you think?” Daniel took off his suit jacket and shoes, glad for the wife beater under his shirt so he wouldn’t be completely exposed to Betty.  
  
“flattery is really your thing, isn’t it Betty?” Daniel asked, sarcastically, before crawling inside the warm covers with Betty on the other side of the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!

Betty woke from a deliciously deep sleep, the normal warmth of her bed seemed to be so much higher, which may have an explanation when she remembered the night before. Daniel always came through for her, even when she had stood him up. She had carried around that burden through the rest of the evening, no matter how many times Daniel told her not to worry, it wasn’t something she could let go of easily. She knew that their friendship had been strained lately, with her recurring obsession with matt and Daniel’s dislike of the man she hadn’t been able to talk to him in a long while.  
  
But, they were back into their old rhythm before she could even blink, Daniel bringing over takeout, and no less than her favourite- although she did suspect Daniel’s overall presence had something to do with Hilda, she being the one to talk to him over the phone. They had settled into watch a movie, the occasional mini food fight breaking out, but not enough so that they ruined the furniture or each other’s clothes.  
  
Now, they were asleep in her bed, Betty’s exhausted mind voicing some of her desires that ended up with Daniel Meade in her bed, even though she may have been too tired for the normally controlling, sensible part of her brain to object to her sleeping in the same bed as her best friend, especially when she was in love with that same best friend. But, she could see why some of the concerns would have not gone unheeded. For example, Daniel gets a little _friendly_ in his sleep, which is why his hand was pressed against one of her boobs and why the rest of him was nudged against her.  
  
This is the part when Betty blushes because: 1) she isn’t wearing a bra and her asleep best friend is feeling her up, and 2) although Daniel may be technically asleep, not all of him was. She didn’t say anything, doing her best to fall back to sleep, because even though Daniel may be feeling her up right now he was probably imagining doing it to Giselle or something. But, it didn’t matter whether it was her or the couch, Daniel was Daniel… and it was no surprise. Mrs. Meade told her he had always been a very grabby baby.  
  
As much as she tried to go back to sleep they were going to have to wake up and go to work, where Betty was going to have to pretend that she hadn’t been dreaming about the man currently pressed against her backside- especially when she was trying to convince matt she was passionate about their relationship, coincidentally not trying to lead him to the truth that she was in love with Daniel, because Daniel himself didn’t know that, and she couldn’t risk anyone else telling him the truth.  
  
“Betty?” came the startled surprise from behind her, as Daniel hastily moved his hands off her. Betty blinked back tears, noting how Daniel acted as if his hands were burnt. It did hurt, she knew she wasn’t like the other’s Daniel dated, but to have the man himself confirm it subconsciously, hurt more than anything. “oh crap!” Daniel said again, moving off the bed. Betty tried to stay still and quiet, but she could feel the sobs building in her chest.  
  
Betty felt the bed dip again, as she felt a hand on her shoulder, as Daniel turned her over. Betty didn’t look at him, pretending to be asleep. “I know you aren’t asleep Betty,” he sighed, gently prodding her shoulder again.  
  
“how?” she finally opened her eyes, biting her lip as she looked into Daniel’s own cerulean orbs.  
  
“you were crying. Betty, I am so sorry, I get a little-,”  
  
“grabby, yeah… your mom told me what you were like as a baby,” Betty sat up slightly, pulling the comforter up to her chin.  
  
“oh crap. Look I am so sorry, especially if I upset you. I don’t see why you didn’t just slap me away?” he asked, stretching out next to her. Betty nudged him under the comforter with her tiny warm foot.  
  
“it isn’t that.” She was telling the truth, she wasn’t upset by Daniel feeling her up, it made her feel all tingly inside.  
  
“what happened then? Did I do something else, or is it because of matt,”  
  
Lying was ultimately simpler than the truth, especially if the lie wove into her real life, especially if it was something she had to address anyway. “it is because of matt, he was a jerk. I did something nice for him, and he threw it back in my face,” she sighed.  
  
“well, as much as I lo- respect you, it is a bit invasive though to get his paintings and put them in a public show,” Daniel nearly slipped up, because he did love Betty, always stated in a friendly way, having his hand on her breast and then saying it may look a little suspicious.

  
“I know, but I was trying to do something nice,” she sighed, tucking her knees up to her chest.  
  
“well, hopefully Matt will get his head out of his ass before he loses you for not realising how wonderful you are.” Daniel sighed, getting out of bed, before putting his work clothes back on, he glanced at the clock, beside Betty’s bed. There was no way he would have time to go back to his loft and change before they went to work.  
  
“thank you, Daniel,” she sniffed her pyjama shirt, then turned to Daniel. “why don’t you get a shower, I can go after you,”  
  
Daniel wouldn’t miss a chance to mortify Betty, hopefully it was going to make her grin “or we could save time and shower together,”  
  
“what?” Betty squeaked, her eyes going wide as her hands curled in the blanket. Daniel grinned, unable to hold back the laughter as Betty flushed bright red. “Daniel!” she squealed again, playfully slapping his shoulder.  
  
“I was just thinking of how long it would take to get to work,” he grinned while Betty bounded off the bed, nearly tripping over the dressing gown that was on the floor.  
  
“okay… enough with the jokes. Go take a shower if you want, just be quick, it takes forever to wash this hair,” she waved him into the bathroom. Daniel smiled, the smell of the bathroom, which included Betty’s vanilla lotion made him slightly dizzy. If it was anyone else’s smell that did that he would have registered it as being dizzy with desire, but it was Betty, he couldn’t think of Betty that way.

It wasn’t fair on her, he didn’t deserve her. Daniel was an immature playboy who thought of no one else apart from himself, while Betty had a heart purer than 24k gold, who saw the good in everyone and everything. He didn’t deserve someone like Betty, no matter how much he wanted to have someone like that in his life.

 

  
“I don’t want to think about that right now,” Betty said, talking to Daniel over skype having just moved back into her apartment. It was empty apart from the step ladder and the table with her laptop on it. She had just set up her blog, something she was going to make Daniel read whether he liked it or not. Matt had gone back to his apartment, leaving her, on crutches to get down a butt load of stairs.  
  
“Betty, come on. I think it is important, you are obviously still mad at me,”  
  
“you just let me fall into traffic, I sprained my ankle, I am still on crutches,” she said emotionally, frowning at Daniel who didn’t look at her. He was still in his office, although it was late. Betty could tell, since she would look up and see the white, sterile walls of MODE behind Daniel’s head as well as the weird metal sculpture thing against the wall behind his desk.  
  
“Betty, I am really sorry about that. But, I didn’t see you fall, I had run off, since marc forgot to book _another_ of my town cars, I was already running late,”  
  
“didn’t you hear me? I did scream, quite loudly,” Betty folded her arms, her lips forming a pout as she glared at Daniel through the camera.  
  
“Betty, look, I have already said sorry. We cannot change what is in the past, I am sorry I didn’t come and be your white night or whatever… I was already in the building. Also, if you don’t recall, I did ask if you were okay and needed my help?” Daniel said, looking slightly annoyed. Betty continued pouting.  
  
“I know, but you don’t have to act so annoyed over it.”  
  
“you can’t blame me for not helping with something I didn’t realise needed help.” Daniel looked away from the screen, Betty could see he was still writing something down.  
  
“okay… I’m sorry for blaming you; matt said I am acting like a bitch,” she sighed, pressing her hands against the table. Daniel’s head shot up, narrowing his eyes as he stopped doing whatever he was doing off-screen. Betty knew that her cursing was enough to pique Daniel’s interest, but it was especially appealing, since Daniel could come up with a legitimate reason to punch matt again.  
  
“he what?”  
  
Betty shrugged slightly, trying to not put the blame on something matt which could be misinterpreted, ending badly for matt. “he didn’t say it directly to me. Matt was talking to his friend benny, about me, saying how I have got all demanding and rude. He said I wasn’t like the person I was when he met me,” Betty sighed, looking dangerously close to tears. Daniel sighed, hating his best friend looking so upset, especially over a first-class idiot like Matthew Hartley.  
  
“Betty, you aren’t like the person who he first met,” Daniel said, trying to ignore the rebuffed look on Betty’s face. “you aren’t the person I knew when I first met you, and sometimes that is a good thing. I still respected the person who you were, but you have grown from a little girl who first started at MODE, the one who swam with the sharks, but managed to keep her head above water. You are a confident woman, who-,” Daniel looked at the screen sceptically, maybe it was just a trick of the streetlights, which were some of the only things that were lighting Betty’s old apartment. “why are you crying?”  
  
“you were saying nice things about me!” she sniffed, reaching for a tissue off-screen, Daniel resisted the temptation to roll his eyes slightly, at Betty’s adorable but soppy crying.  
  
“I know, but you don’t need to cry, silly,” he smiled as warmly as he could through a screen. He wished he was there in person, to receive one of Betty’s hugs that made anyone feel as if nothing could go wrong in the world, ever.  
  
“I know, but matt is so mean, he acts like ever since I kissed henry I owe him something. Then he calls me that rude word to his friend, and no one has ever called me that before, pig Latin, maybe…” she looked down at the keyboard. Daniel stifled a grin over Betty’s solemn attitude in conjuncture to the words she was saying.  
  
“why haven’t you dumped him?” Daniel asked, not even bothering to go around the houses. It was bad enough that matt was an annoying jerk, but to call her names when Betty has done nothing wrong was unforgivable. Betty was bossy, which is what made her such a good editor, but she was one of the kindest, most genuine people Daniel had ever met.  
  
“I don’t know, because I was the one who did something wrong. I mean, I did kiss henry,” she raised her eyebrows, her eyes going wide to emphasise her point.  
  
“Betty, you kissed him. It wasn’t like matt walked in on henry ba-,” Betty glared at him, so he moved on to the next sentence “anyway, it doesn’t matter. You kissed him, you don’t owe matt anything, and it isn’t any excuse for matt to call you that, okay? I have never called a woman that, even when Sofia served my balls up on national TV.” Daniel looked between Betty and the urgently due paperwork that was lying on his desk.  
  
“I know, but I just don’t feel right breaking up with him,” Betty bit her plump lips, not looking at anything in particular.  
  
“that is why you aren’t a bitch, too damn nice for your own good, yes! But, a bitch? No!” he smiled at her, Betty smiled back.  
  
“thank you, Daniel.” she stifled a yawn. “I think I should head home, I need to sort out the rent, since Mr. Z just came and started banging on the door because Amanda forgot to pay two months of back rent!”  
  
“oh, do you need my-,”  
  
“no money, Daniel. I need Amanda to pay what she owes me, she didn’t even tell me! I have to go sort it out, or get Amanda to… I don’t know, but I should be getting home,”  
  
“in crutches? Can you even get downstairs?”  
  
Betty laughed, the sound that Daniel feel at home but excited, as if he was going to explore new lands at the same time whenever he heard it. “maybe, I will try.”  
  
“no, you aren’t, I am coming to get you. I texted my town car, just wait there and look pretty okay?” Daniel said, hurriedly disconnecting the call before he had a chance to see Betty’s reaction to what he had said. It was kind of an impulse; however, he was worried how Betty would see that. He did think she was beautiful, but he didn’t say it all the time like he affirmed it with Amanda. Amanda needed constant confirmation of how beautiful she was; however, Betty didn’t need constant reminding of how amazing she was, she could so without being told that every single second of the day. She was his Betty, he wouldn’t let her forget how amazing she was, but it wasn’t just the aesthetic beauty that people at MODE only thought mattered, he would remind her of.  
  
Daniel called a town car, arriving at Betty’s apartment, seeing her face in the window as he pulled up to the building. When he got to her door she flung it open practically jumping into his arms.  
  
“thank you! thank you! I was scared I was going to fall down those stairs,” Daniel’s hands rested comfortingly on her lower back as Betty gripped on tighter to him. Daniel gently put her down on the worn linoleum of the hallway.  
  
“I am glad you didn’t try and do it yourself! Did you get your bags?” he looked at the laptop bag as well as her hand-bag leaning against the door.  
  
“uh huh, now… how are we going to get me and my bags down the stairs?” she looked at the deep stairwell while Daniel bit his lip, knowing how he was probably going to have to carry her down if it was going to be safe for her.  
  
“I take you down, then I run up and get your bags, okay?” he suggested, picking Betty up before she had a chance to protest. She did squeal a bit; one hand was still on her crutches as Daniel wielded her in his arms.  
  
“Daniel, careful, please don’t drop me! I am too fat to carry,” she said, stopping kicking and nudged her head into his shoulder. Daniel stopped trying to steady her and glared at her.  
  
“no, you aren’t, and I don’t want to hear you say those kinds of things about yourself.” He sighed, just as Betty dropped her crutches, down the stairs. Betty shut her eyes, knowing one of her old neighbours would likely make a big fuss about that, especially with the clunking sound that reverberated through the whole building. “I will pick those up on my way back up,” Daniel said, just as marc came out of his door, smiling like he had won the lottery.  
  
“ooh! What have we got here?” he smiled mockingly at Betty, who was in Daniel’s arms, her head buried in his neck. Although marc was annoying, and if he sent the picture he had no doubt taken before announcing his presence it would be all over New York in a matter of minutes, Daniel was now his direct boss.  
  
“Betty’s hurt. I am not going to let her fall down these stairs, so could you grab her bags marc, please?” Daniel asked, pointing to the doorway. Marc didn’t even bother to try and resist, grabbing them as he too followed Daniel and Betty down the stairwell, without another word. Daniel put Betty down on the sidewalk, letting her wrap her arms around him as she gained her balance. He handed her the crutches marc had gone back to retrieve, making sure she had all her stuff before she tried to get into the town car with all her luggage.  
  
Marc stood behind him, smiling as he watched Betty get into the town car, he had his phone in his hand. The grin wasn’t the nicest one. “marc what do you want?” Daniel asked, looking agitatedly at the curly haired sycophant standing behind him, his mobile aloft.   
  
“what will it take for Ms. Suarez and your privacy to remain… private?” he asked, while Daniel rolled his eyes. Only marc would make a small innocent moment look like a big scandal which, no doubt, the press would be sniffing around before Daniel had even had a chance to look at the picture itself.  
  
“yes, because me carrying her just reeks of scandal, she sprained her ankle for god’s sake, and knowing you, you might drop her down the stairs.” Daniel said bitterly, closing the door to the town car so that Betty didn’t have to hear them argue.  
  
“well… the moment I captured didn’t look so platonic,”  
  
“marc, you seem to have forgotten that I am your boss, as much as Wilhelmina is, what are you getting at?”  
  
Marc took a step closer as a new image flashed up on the screen, marc was right, this image wasn’t so platonic. This looked like it was from when he stayed over when Betty had unintentionally stood him up.  
  
This image wasn’t even innocent, especially since it had been taken between the time where Daniel was conscious and fully asleep. That meant that some of his motor skills were starting to kick in. Justin, he was probably the culprit, actually no, Daniel could guarantee that he was the culprit, as Justin had become (as Amanda so delicately put it) marc’s ward. So, of course the diva would be the first to receive the image that could damage Betty’s reputation as much as his was in the trash.  
  
“I didn’t sleep with her, not in the way you are thinking,” Daniel argued, squaring up to marc.  
  
“well, it looked like a lot more than just crashing on her bed?”  
  
“I was asleep!” Daniel growled, getting closer to marc, who held his ground. Sighing, Daniel backed off, rolling his eyes. Marc was used to intimidation tactics. He had been the prize gofer for Wilhelmina slater for longer than Betty had been his assistant. Marc was no stranger to scare tactics, in fact, he probably preferred them from Daniel, considering Wilhelmina wasn’t exactly his type.  
  
“well, the press won’t know that?”  
  
“marc, what is going on, Betty didn’t do anything? You know this will hurt her reputation more than it will do to mine.” Daniel argued, making a move to snatch the phone out of his hand.  
  
“she stole my job, I think that warrants blackmail,”  
  
“it isn’t that bad. I am her best friend, marc, it isn’t that damaging.”  
  
“you are squeezing her breast!” marc zoomed into the picture to further emphasise his point. Daniel batted the phone away, well aware of his subconscious desire. He wasn’t sure what it was, especially when it concerned Betty. It had already been established that he would swim the east river, or any other large body of water for Betty, well before any of these… feelings started to arise.  
  
“marc, Betty knew,”  
  
“well, I don’t know if I should include that in the headline,” marc snickered, dodging Daniel’s grasp as he reached for the phone.  
  
“marc! What do you want from me? Isn’t it private what I get up to with Betty?” Daniel asked, folding his arms over his chest.  
  
“I want the promotion that the churro denied me. There is a position opening up for senior fashion editor. Can you put in a word with Wilhelmina?” marc said, his finger hovering enticingly over the delete button.  
  
“I will do better than that, I will make sure you get it!” Daniel said, peering at the phone.  
  
“thank you!” with that marc hit the delete button, Daniel knew that Justin had the original photo however, so, he would need to tell Betty what was going on if they were to delete the photo off of Justin’s phone.  
  
He slid into the backseat, sliding down next to Betty who was clutching her laptop bag against her stomach, while staring intently out of the window, like she had done all the while Daniel was speaking to marc. “are you okay?” Daniel asked, patting the crutches who were resting between them.  
  
“what was marc saying? He had a picture of us, didn’t he?” Betty asked, taking Daniel’s hand between the crutches.  
  
“yeah…” he admitted, there was no other way around this, although he couldn’t just corner Justin and ask him to delete the picture, but he would probably tell his aunt either way, especially regarding the contents of the image.  
  
“it isn’t that bad. You were just carrying me!” she argued, scowling slightly at the thought of a perfectly harmless image being used to blackmail them.  
  
“no, it isn’t of that,” Daniel sighed, biting his lip and not looking at Betty.  
  
“what is it of?” Betty asked, frowning slightly, she could tell it wasn’t going to be good, especially considering Daniel’s expression. He obviously wasn’t very happy with it.  
  
“you know when I stayed over, and I woke up… fondling you,” Daniel lowered his voice “Justin must have taken a picture of what was going on, and it was a particularly good picture,” Daniel sighed, looking at Betty.  
  
“oh… what was it of exactly?” Betty asked, timidly.  
  
“what are you talking about, how long were you awake? What else did I do?” Daniel sounded shocked, which is when Betty realised that saying that either could have gone two ways, if he hadn’t considered she recognised the fondling bit. So, the only way it could go was that Daniel had done something else.  
  
“erm, just pressing against me… nothing bad, I mean I didn’t mind,” Betty blushed slightly, looking away from Daniel who seemed a little surprised by that, however didn’t say anything else about it, instead he blushed slightly.  
  
“okay, well in this picture I was,” he cleared his throat, lowering his voice to barely above a whisper, although he was pretty sure that the driver wasn’t listening. “touching, you know… the top part of you,”  
  
“my boobs?” she didn’t seem that surprised, biting her lip coyly.  
  
“yes, Betty. Your boobs, and it was pretty damn obvious that I was doing so, but I don’t want it getting out. Do you think you could get Justin to delete the picture from his phone too?” Daniel asked, smiling at Betty, trying to bringing some humour to the situation.  
  
“why don’t you want it getting out?” she seemed hurt, which was surprising. Daniel hadn’t meant to upset her with the thought of it, especially since he wouldn’t mind it getting out. Daniel would be honoured to be thought of as in being in a relationship with Betty, but it wouldn’t look good for her. She didn’t deserve to be called a gold digger, or all the other names that even Amanda experienced, despite that she could be a model if she was a bit taller she would still get ridiculed, since she wasn’t the daughter of an oligarch or baron.  
  
“it wouldn’t look good for you, you don’t want to be dragged through the mud by the media.” Daniel pulled her across the seat towards him, shoving the crutches out of the way before he gathered her beside him.  
  
“thank you, Daniel… but, I don’t think that way, I would be honoured. And remember, I am dating matt and I don’t get any ridicule over that,” she put her hand over his knee, a dangerous move, especially considering the tension seemed to be high enough in the car as it was.  
  
“yeah, I don’t think matt would be so happy that I am feeling up his girlfriend, no matter how much I swear it is of platonic nature,” Daniel chuckled, putting an arm around her shoulders, as she leant into his side.  
  
“no, I doubt matt would be very happy about that,” she sighed. There were somethings Betty wished would change, her current relationship with matt being one of them. It didn’t matter if she had kissed henry, it wasn’t like they were that intimate, but she did understand why matt was upset in the beginning- but not now when she had apologised more than she had ever done in her entire life over one kiss.  
  
Then matt acted as if he could treat her however he wanted and she should just go along with it, since she didn’t have the justification to be mad at him when he made her pay for their dates, or do all the cleaning around his when they made a mess. She was fed up, but she could see a future, and that is what scared her.  
  
And that she didn’t like the look of it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty

Betty didn’t look at anyone when she went into work the next day, marc had told her something very disturbing, not just for her, but she expected it was for all parties involved. That explained why Daniel had a blackeye and why Betty wasn’t speaking to him.  
  
Daniel had kissed Wilhelmina, his literal worst enemy, although that just was, once again an example of Daniel’s low standards it was also an example of how he would never even consider kissing betty. Groping her accidentally when he thought she was just a chubby supermodel: yes, but on purpose kiss her? No way would that happen. Marc had told her this morning while they talked over bubble tea and Amanda bitching about everything and everyone.   
  
But, now she was just mad at Daniel. He didn’t even respond when Betty practically said that she liked being felt up by him, even though that was in no way intentional for that to come out during their conversation, but have a therapist suggest that there may be sexual tension between him and Wilhelmina, Daniel doesn’t even give a second thought to how hard Wilhelmina would have hit him, and how hard she did hit him.  
  
Betty felt stupid, she thought she might actually have a chance with Daniel Meade. Sympathy might earn her a few chances, if Daniel had even thought about that… about them, together, as a couple. In all honesty, having matt run off to Botswana didn’t actually hurt her as much as she portrayed, or even suspected it hurt him; she was relieved, that horrible future with the fireplace and the scotch wasn’t going to happen, since the bond they had was broken the minute he boarded the plane.  
  
Betty sipped on the remainder of her bubble tea, marc having gotten the job he was currently literally prancing through the hallways like a hyper deer. Mean old Meegan was moving to another office, much to Betty’s delight. She had tried everything and Meegan still insisted on being rude to her, and ungrateful, but soon she had marc, who was both those things to her more often than not- but he was sometimes nice, and that is what counted in her mind.  
  
Suddenly Daniel appeared in the doorway, while Betty ducked under the cover of her seat, not wanting to talk to him, although Betty seemed to have forgotten she wasn’t invisible and Daniel still came into the room, reminding Betty of the situation when she was ‘signing papers’ underneath henry’s desk.   
  
“Betty, what are you doing?” Daniel peered under the desk, smirking as he saw Betty on her hands and knees, pretending to look for something.  
  
“erm…” she couldn’t come up with a credible excuse, so she just blushed and put her head down pretending to look again.   
  
“did you lose a contact?” Betty made the mistake of looking into Daniel’s eyes which made her forget her own name, much less the lie she was conducting in her head.  
  
“yes,” she said, glad to have an excuse and crawled out from under the desk. Daniel grinned again, gently flicking the lenses of her glasses. Betty sighed, knowing she wouldn’t have the time to come up with a credible excuse, no matter how good of a writer Betty was. Daniel had that effect on women, no matter whether or not they were hired to specifically not sleep with Betty.  
  
“okay… are you okay? You are acting weird.” Daniel said, gently holding her shoulders as she stood up in front of him.  
  
“I’m tired,” Betty excused, which was true, having running around New York following marc to help him get a promotion, as well as juggling a hazardous karaoke night that she had with her neighbours. Apparently, her voice was enough to plunge New York into darkness.    
  
“okay, are you losing sleep over matt?” Daniel asked, spinning Betty’s chair so he could gently push her into it. Betty wasn’t losing anything over matt, being secretly glad he was gone and she was no longer in a relationship more suffocating than Amanda’s drunk hugs. But, Betty didn’t want to leave room for Daniel to find out, the best thing was to cut herself off from it, to make sure she didn’t have any time alone with the man to accidentally spill what she had been waiting to for months.   
  
“I… erm- not, maybe…” Betty said, a sentence full of fractured syllables as she didn’t know what to say. If she was being all needy, missing matt she could shut whatever windows she left open for Daniel; however, if she told Daniel that she didn’t feel anything for matt then she would seem worse than Wilhelmina, only much less beautiful.  
  
“maybe… Betty I can understand if you are thrilled he was gone, I am; especially when he called you that name. Betty, why didn’t you just let me punch him?” Daniel asked, leaning against the back of Betty’s chair. Betty didn’t look at Daniel, putting her head against the desk, her silky hair fanning out against the glass.  
  
“because, punching people doesn’t solve anything. And you suck at fighting, remember we have discussed this,” she moved her chair around, facing Daniel who nearly slipped when he lost his grip on the back of the chair.  
  
“I know, but- he called you a bitch Betty!” then Daniel looked suddenly awkward, biting his lip gently as he looked straight into Betty’s eyes. Betty wriggled uncomfortably under his gaze, crossing her legs in her flowy skirt. Daniel eyes travelled down her legs, then snapped back up to her eyes, looking guilty. “erm, you know when I picked you up when you still had your crutches? You said that you didn’t mind about the… erm, fondling,” Daniel lowered his voice to just above a whisper.  
  
“what are you talking about?” Betty asked, blushing. Daniel looked confused, and Betty felt bad, especially when she lied to Daniel. Daniel was her best friend, she shouldn’t lie to him, especially about her subconscious desires.   
  
“Betty…” maybe it was a good thing how well Daniel knew her, even though it was a deeply embarrassing subject. “tell me the truth, please?” he asked, running his hand along her bare arm as she had taken off her purple coat.  
  
“erm, why don’t we continue this conversation in the bathroom?” Betty stood up, grabbing a hold of Daniel’s arm and pulling him with her, into the ladies’ bathroom. When they got inside, Betty sat on one of the stools in the middle of the room, as Daniel faced her. “I did say I didn’t mind, however I think I was just too tired,”  
  
“really? This entire time I was wondering whether or not you were coming onto me, Betty- it has really screwed me up,”  
  
Betty was annoyed now, how could Daniel say that something like that- even though saying how she didn’t mind him feeling her up was in no way innocent, but how would that screw _him_ up? Betty had managed to keep her desires under control, however Daniel acted as if it was so much more than just a simple thought. “excuse me! How did _you_ feeling _me_ up, make your life difficult?” Betty asked, pouting as much as she could with all the confusion going on inside her mind at that moment.  
  
Daniel stared at her, using the face he only reserved for the times he thought Betty was being deliberately stupid. “Betty, in case you haven’t noticed, I am a man, who has his own desires, and thinking about a very beautiful, curvaceous woman and not being able to do anything about it,” he waved his hands around to signify something, Betty wasn’t sure of which.   
  
Betty smiled, despite having her hands protectively covering her chest as Daniel’s eyes lingered there. “thank you, Daniel. What are you trying to say though?” Betty asked, diverting her gaze to the floor. Betty could imagine that Daniel was rolling his eyes, and as she looked up the azure peepers were just returning to meet her own gaze.  
  
“Betty, you keep thinking of yourself as unattractive, but I know that isn’t the case. Mainly because I have been having some very… vivid dreams about you,” Betty felt tingles run down her back just by the way he was looking at her, much less the honey over gravel tones of his voice.   
  
“just because I said I didn’t mind?” Betty asked, daring to raise her head a bit more to look at Daniel, she didn’t sound incredulous, just intrigued.   
  
“no, not just that… just, it has been a long time since molly,” Daniel said, while Betty bit her lip, she had heard from marc that Amanda and Daniel has some kind of arrangement, but if he was still getting all upset over molly it must have not been true. “and normally I go out with people who aren’t so-,”  
  
“fat?” Betty spat out, looking hurt. Daniel’s eyes widened, then he was quick to reassure her.  
  
“no, I didn’t say that, voluptuous was the word I was going to use. Betty, I don’t want to fight with you about this, okay, I was just saying it is hard for me to concentrate, when I keep thinking about waking up next to you,” Betty knew it was a bit strange, having her best friend whisper things so obviously motivated by lust in her ear, however she felt a spurt of hope. Hope, the only thing keeping her going.   
  
“so, I take it I make a good pillow?” Betty asked, light-heartedly, wondering if the whole situation was make believe. Daniel sat next to her, brushing her hair away from her ear so he could whisper even lower.  
  
“the very best Betty, so… I was wondering whether or not you thought it was a mistake, or where you just trying to cover up?” he asked, breathing into her ear as Betty felt herself flush from head to toe.   
  
“I don’t really know what to say, Daniel. I mean, where has this come from?” she asked, taking a deep breath in to stop her practically melting into a puddle.  
  
“Betty, we have been friends for nearly four years, we have been through so much together- I think we need to think about us,” he smiled, while Betty nodded. Outwardly, she looked nervous, biting her lip and tilting her head as if she didn’t quite know what Daniel was talking about. But, inwardly there were fireworks going off in her head.  
  
“okay, do you want to talk now, or-?”  
  
“meet me at my place, tonight? I am going to make us dinner,” he leaned in closer to her, gently kissing her on the cheek. Betty was shocked, she didn’t know which way up the world was.  
  
They had hugged all the time, however they had never kissed, even if it was just on the cheek or the nose- it was a written rule for Daniel and Betty. However, Betty could assume they were rewriting all the rules now.  
  
“what time?” Betty whispered, leaning into Daniel’s side, this felt like a whole new chapter in her life. Daniel grinned.  
  
“about eight? Please don’t stand me up this time?” Daniel asked, smiling at Betty. Betty nodded, a broad smile spreading onto her face, she leant over to kiss him again, however another woman sidled into the bathroom. If anyone saw anything more than a hug of physical contact between Daniel and Betty then it would be all over MODE, nay, New York within the hour.   
  
“I will see you at eight?” Betty said, as they both walked out of the bathroom, Daniel trying to avoid looking suspicious.   
  
Betty practically skipped to her desk, radiant in the way she was blushing. Amanda had noticed, coming over to her desk as well, Amanda didn’t look as happy as betty as she sat on the edge of Betty’s desk. Instead she looked confused, smirking at Betty.  
  
“so, what is going on, you are grinning like you just got all the candy from a piñata?” Amanda smiled, swinging her legs, Betty rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to her computer. Betty didn’t know whether to tell Amanda about her and Daniel, especially with Amanda and Daniel’s turbulent history. But, last Betty knew was that Amanda was into matt, and Daniel had practically told her that the rumours of him and Amanda hooking up in the Bahama’s were just that, just rumours. Amanda was one of her best friends- she could tell her.  
  
Betty blushed, biting her lip and grinning “well… Daniel did ask me out, to go to his place tonight at eight!” Betty said, smiling widely. She checked Amanda’s face for any signs of jealousy and upset, then when Amanda seemed shocked Betty bit her lip again. She liked Amanda, the woman was civil to her, for most of the time, it didn’t seem right to rub whatever kind of blossoming relationship she had with Daniel in the woman’s face. “you are okay with that, aren’t you?” Betty asked, spinning her chair around to face Amanda. Amanda shook her head slightly then grinned back.   
  
“yes. Betty, I am so over Daniel, I am u-,” she shook out the blonde curls again “anyway, I was shocked because you seriously think that you are going on a date with Daniel looking like that?” she asked, reminding Betty of the Amanda she first met when she got there.  
  
“erm…” Betty didn’t know what to say, looking at her clothes in disdain. Amanda’s eyes went wide, realising of how it must have sounded.  
  
“no, no- I mean, Daniel would love you if you were in a bin bag Betty, you know that, but you need some new clothes before you go on a date with him. Ooh, do you have spanx?” Amanda asked, smiling and gripping Betty’s hands. Betty breathed out a sigh of relief. Of course, it was just Amanda being Amanda, not actually making a dig at her. Betty knew she didn’t have a natural fashion sense, and was often told so by marc, Amanda and anyone else who felt like it.   
  
“Amanda, I don’t think spanx is going to fix me,”  
  
“you don’t need fixing, you are actually looking sort of pretty. So, maybe just get rid of these?” she said, plucking Betty’s glasses off her face and throwing them at the window. She frowned momentarily, as Betty was watching with confusion. “I honestly thought that would be open,”  
  
“Amanda, I don’t even think these windows do open?” Betty sighed, being unable to even see Amanda.   
  
“well, back to what I was saying. You are looking sort-of pretty now, and even better with those glasses off your face, but you need some polishing,” she pulled Betty up from her chair, Betty stumbling over boxes and into things following Amanda’s haphazard lead to the closet. Once they were there the fashion genius went through all of the racks, pulling clothing down from them, smiling at the certain items that pooled at her feet. Betty seriously doubted Amanda would find anything in her size, but she would give her points for perseverance.   
  
Although Betty cannot see anything she doesn’t mind because she is actually quite excited, having Amanda dress her wasn’t something that was rare, however now it was actually necessary. Betty was half expecting Amanda to come out with something like what she tried on when she and Christina were planning to go to that nightclub, all those years before. Big, bulky, completely unflattering.   
  
However, when Amanda actually turned up it wasn’t what Betty was expecting, a strapless white and yellow floral dress. In a size, similar to hers.  
  
“aha, you will look amazing in this Betty. There was one with solid colour, but that is so not you, and you don’t even need straps because you will keep it on fine,” Amanda gestured to her chest, and although Betty felt a little uncomfortable she was smiling happily.  
  
“wow, I think it is really nice. Yellow is my favourite colour,” Betty beamed taking the silky fabric from Amanda. The label said a designer’s name she didn’t know; however, she didn’t mind, the dress was too fabulous to care about labels.   
  
“it would totally look great on you Betty, let’s go find some shoes and get stripping, girl!” Amanda said, squealing excitedly. Although Betty couldn’t see she was sure she was grinning ear-to-ear. Growing up, she had always pretended not to mind having friends to do this sort of thing with. She had her friends, a few close ones, and despite the crushes they were more the type to stay in on prom night than go out all dolled up. Betty felt like a teenager again, especially since Daniel was the one she was going to be waiting for, maybe fairy-tale’s do come true?   
  
Betty blushed slightly, ducking behind another rack of clothes to change into the dress. Amanda could be freely nice to her as much as she wanted without marc intervening and muttering something bitchy about Betty stealing his job. Once Betty had gotten changed she stepped out from behind the racks of clothes to see Amanda, smiling, holding one of those; clip in flowers and a pair of yellow high heels.   
  
“you do realise it is only February Amanda?” Betty asked, seeing the very summery clothes.   
  
“hmm, you’re right!” she swept behind another stack of clothes, instead of the flower she was clutching a white suede coat. Betty took it in her hands, it was soft, but the suede was thin, the lining white silk as well.   
  
“this doesn’t look very warm Amanda, and can I wear tights with this?” she asked, plucking at the dress. Amanda slapped her hands away, frowning.  
  
“you dare, I don’t want those woollen crimes against fashion anywhere near this…”  
  
“what label is it anyway?” Betty asked, reaching around as Amanda looked at the back of the neckline for a tag.   
  
“I don’t know, I think it is a brand for curvaceous ladies. Anyway, you can wear nude pantyhose, nothing else, you hear me?” Amanda asked, throwing some at Betty. Betty took them gently, squinting at the mirror.  
  
“okay. Amanda, did my glasses break when they, you know, hit the window?” Betty asked, moving closer to the window in the hope of being able to see herself clearly.   
  
“I don’t know, lets me go and have a look, stay here,” Amanda ran off, while Betty stood in the closet unable to see anything. She sighed, sitting down on the couch in the closet. Well, at least her blurry outline looked nice, although no matter how much Amanda begged there was no way she was going to get spanx. That just wasn’t happening, especially after the first time she had been convinced by Hilda, and that did not go well at all.   
  
Amanda eventually came trotting back, the heels she was wearing were maybe too high for even her to run in. She had Betty’s glasses which were thankfully intact. “here you go, they didn’t break, which is a shame,” Amanda said, looking as if she was about to snap the glasses in half. Betty quickly reclaimed her glasses before they became another thing which would be prey to Amanda.  
  
“thank you, for that! I don’t think that it is a shame that I can see, Amanda, I would quite like to get where I am supposed to be going, unscathed.” Betty sighed, wiping the lenses of her glasses. Apart from a couple of scratches they were mostly fine.   
  
“okay, if that is how you feel. Betty, I suggest changing back into your regular ugly clothes for the remainder of the day, so you can really knock Daniel out with that dress. Bye, girl bestie!” Amanda said, practically flying out of the closet. Betty put her glasses on, properly looking at her reflection. It did look a bit dressy, with the suede jacket, and Betty wasn’t going to start stealing from the closet to get free clothes like Amanda did, however she reckoned that it would be a lot better than the puffy pink coat she had from last year. She might actually look fashionable, and be able to walk since the heels weren’t that high.   
  
Betty was now left to change, then would have to wobble her way back to her desk, since Amanda had hidden her other shoes, which wasn’t very helpful. But, it didn’t matter. She was going on a date with Daniel!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty

Daniel waited in his apartment, which was actually molly’s old apartment. Which is why he felt quite guilty, especially since he wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t try to put the moves on Betty. He did love Betty, but she already knew that. However, she didn’t know the level of love between them. His mother told him that there was a fine line between platonic and romantic love, which was her explanation for sleeping with Cal Hartley, not just his father’s infidelity.   
  
Infidelity. That is what it felt like, having Betty over for a date, even though none of the furniture in here was molly’s, it had gone to her family. The building was where they had shared a lot of memories, where they had planned to start the first stage in their life where they eventually expected to grow old together. But, molly was gone… now he was supposed to be starting a life with Betty.   
  
Daniel definitely wasn’t going to tell her that, especially since Betty was so young. She was ten years younger than him, she shouldn’t have any kind of responsibilities in her love life. Especially playing his current object of affection. It didn’t happen fast, it happened so slowly that Daniel didn’t notice it until the last minute- the minute when he woke up with his hands pressed against Betty’s breasts. Daniel had always been aware of how much Betty meant to him, or he thought he had, since waking up next to her in a not so innocent context had awakened something primal inside him.  
  
He was in love with Betty, the thought didn’t scare him as half as much as the thought for Betty’s reaction to it, he didn’t go into this relationship wanting another couple of empty nights, or weeks. He didn’t ask Betty out to ‘see how it went’. He had never been sure about his feelings as much as now when starting a relationship. Sofia was determined by lust, the person he was then only being able to operate on that front. With molly, they had two weeks in St. Bart’s to figure that out.   
  
He didn’t know how to approach it, he initiated whatever sequence for this relationship to not mess around. He knew how Betty liked to be treated, and so far, he knew he could do it, in fact, he had broken off his little fun buddy relationship with Amanda the previous week. All he had to do to not break Betty’s heart was: not get another girl pregnant (which he wasn’t sure on the status, considering the number of women he had slept with) and not go running off to Africa (he could give a solid guarantee on that, because being away from Betty for the three weeks after molly’s death was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do) he knew he couldn’t live without Betty. But he didn’t know how she felt, she had to flit like her favourite butterflies.   
  
When he was her age he barely knew where he was, definitely not his blood alcohol level but it would have been 0. A lot when he was her age. She deserved not to be tied down by someone who was fast approaching forty.   
  
Suddenly the doorbell rang, Daniel practically jumping out of his seat to go to the door, hoping it was Betty and not just the UPS guy. But, it was Betty, and she looked stunning. Daniel knew her favourite colour was yellow, that is why whenever he thought about buying her stuff it would be in a featured colour; however, he hadn’t seen her looking quite so radiant as she did now.   
  
The yellow tones complimented her smooth olive skin tone, her shiny dark hair and deep brown eyes, she looked absolutely stunning. And was all his. Betty stepped into the apartment nervously. She fiddled with her hand in front of the dress, Daniel watched her, the silky dress with the yellow flowers printed on them as she swished towards him; her hair was brushed out of her face, showing her tasteful makeup and fill lips towards the man who would appreciate them more than anyone.  
  
“wow, you look… so nice, Betty,” Daniel was finding it hard to speak by the sheer beauty of the woman in front of him, he knew if he told Betty this it was highly unlikely that she would listen to him, after all he was the overseer of MODE, central for beautiful woman. But, Betty was real, intelligent, amazing and always believed in him.  
  
“thank you!” she said, however it sounded more sarcastic than anything else.  
  
“I meant… there are not words to describe how amazing you are,” he said, while that made Betty blush. Daniel stepped aside, letting Betty see the table, set for the both of them, complete with wine, candles and a whole lot cutlery. Instead of going straight to the table Betty stopped as the door softly clicked shut behind him. Betty looked up at him, her eyes glassy with unshed tears as she smiled at Daniel, gently biting her lip.  
  
“hey are you okay?” he asked, moving towards her, however was cut off when Betty’s lips pressed against his own, capturing him in a steamy kiss.   
  
Daniel was taken aback by the intensity and passion of her kiss, he knew that Betty was passionate about what all of things, especially her relationships. He spent $50 on tissues when she broke up with henry. He didn’t expect this, this soon. Betty was clutching a hold of his shoulders as she reached up, finding herself on her tiptoes as she explored his mouth with her tongue. When she finally drew away Daniel didn’t know what to do with himself, he was almost shaking with excitement.   
  
“wow,” he touched his lips, looking between his hands and Betty’s grinning face. Betty smiled even wider than before, biting her lip gently before speaking.  
  
“sorry, I have just wanted to get that out of my system,” she said, before blushing, her cheeks turning rosy red in the candlelight.  
  
“why are you apologising?” Daniel asked, before he kissed Betty again, moving backwards so her back was pressed against the door. When they parted, Betty breathed out, her skin shining with the exertion of just making out. Daniel kept on kissing her, now attacking her neck with renewed vigour. Betty was certain he was going to leave a love bite if he wasn’t careful, not that she would mind.  
  
Eventually he stopped his path down her neck, his lips lingering on the skin of her collarbone, just above the neckline of her dress. One of his hands rested just above her head, against the wooden door as Betty smiled at him. “so… did I make a wrong move? Did I think this was a date when it wasn’t?” Betty asked, suddenly extremely nervous of their situation. What made her even more nervous was when Daniel removed his hand from above her head, the grin practically sliding off of his face. Betty could almost feel her heart plummet in her chest.   
  
“well, I was kind of hoping to talk to you about that tonight, that is why I made dinner,”  
  
“oh,” Betty said, looking at Daniel’s expression, she knew him well enough to know that it wasn’t anguish, just a look of intense concentration.   
  
“don’t worry, I liked the kiss… a lot. I just didn’t want to start another relationship to see where it goes.” He pulled out Betty’s chair for her as she sat down, smiling at the food in front of her “you know me better than anyone else Betty, and I can tell by that kiss alone that we are definitely compatible. So, I just wanted to see where you stood on the subject?” Daniel felt like he was in an interview, an interview for the woman who has had the keys to his heart for a long time, whether or not she was going to stay in his life.  
  
“I… I don’t know Daniel, like you said, we have been friends for so long, I don’t want you to get bored of me,” she knotted her eyebrows together, behind her glasses as she blinked steadily. Daniel didn’t know what to think of Betty’s reaction, only that he knew he could never be bored of her as long as he lived. She continued to surprise him and amaze him, not just by turning up on his doorstep looking like she should be on the cover of MODE, not just writing for it.   
  
“Betty, I doubt that is ever going to happen, you are too amazing to be bored of,” he said, sincerely, which Betty believed, judging by shade of magenta her face was.  
  
“it is just that happened with matt, it was so repetitive,” she sighed, twirling her wine glass in her hand as she instinctively reached for the fork to take a bite of the food in front of her. Daniel knew some parts of Betty’s problems with matt. That is what the whole art show thing was about, but he also knew that Betty got bored of matt instead of the other way around. Daniel had a new worry if he was to start this relationship, would she get bored of him?   
  
“Betty, I am a Meade, I doubt it will ever be repetitive. Knowing my luck my father will probably come back from the dead and say he is actually married to Wilhelmina,”  
  
“even though you tried to kiss her?” Betty said, twirling the ravioli around her fork. Now it was Daniel’s turn to blush. How did she know about that? Marc, and Amanda, no doubt, although Daniel did recognise some of her clothes from the closet, such as the jacket- maybe Betty had been captured by Amanda and dressed for her date. Well, at least Amanda was okay with it, although he knew he would go in on Monday and everyone at MODE would have them practically engaged.   
  
“you know better than anyone that a kiss doesn’t mean anything. Anyway, I was a little… frustrated at the time, especially considering what you had said to me…” Daniel said looking his down at his plate, which was piled high with the food as well. Daniel smirked slightly, seeing that Betty liked the food. He had cooked it, but it was one of those posh ready to cook meals that could be done in the microwave. He wanted the food to be actually edible.  
  
“are you still on that?” she asked, smiling broadly and putting another forkful into her mouth, then moaning her appraisal. Daniel grinned slightly, although he was sure Betty would figure it out without his help, though he was sure he could give her a few hints.  
  
“hey, I was the one who defended you!” he said, in a mock serious tone. Betty laughed at him as he used his best face that he had adapted over the years to get women off his back. Despite Betty saying she was immune to his charms she always caved into that face.  
  
“I know, I know. Thank you so much Daniel, I just… I don’t feel right breaking up with people, especially when I care about them,” Daniel didn’t know if that was supposed to be some kind of hint, however if it was, then it was a good one. They had been friends for years, they always had each other’s backs. If she couldn’t let go of henry when she knew it was going to end either way, then hopefully they wouldn’t come to that conclusion.   
  
“well, it was a good thing he ran off to Africa then, otherwise you would never be rid of him.” Daniel said, grinning slightly as he brought his wine glass to his lips.  
  
“hmm, well at least he is doing something for charity. But, I feel really guilty because there is a part of me that is so happy he is gone,” she sighed, playing with her food now, instead of eating it.  
  
Daniel watched her wind the pasta around her fork, only to let it fall back onto the plate. “Betty, I don’t see how that is a problem. You have your own thoughts, and why shouldn’t you be happy? Matt is helping other people, there isn’t anything wrong with that. It also allows you to explore other options,” he reached for the non-fork-twiddling hand and clutched it in his own.   
  
“yeah... okay, you have made your point Daniel,” she smiled, biting her lip as she clutched his hand back.  
  
“hey, it is a good point though. So, if you want this to be a date, this can be a date?” he said, suddenly nervous in spite of the kissing and pinning against doors that happened only moments earlier.  
  


“I would like that,”

  
The rest of their conversation was easy, free flowing, but there were things that were unsaid, mainly because both Daniel and Betty where well aware that they were on a date.   
  
There was the tension, three years of build-up would do that, to the moment when they first kissed, and in between the moment of their first time together. Daniel, felt he should want to wait, to be gentlemanly, but that was a lot more difficult than he had ever imagined it, it was Betty. He knew from the number of admirers she had had over the years that she was like kryptonite to unexpecting passers-by. She was irresistible, and would royally screw you up. He didn’t know how long he would be able to put the animalistic part of him on hold, because it felt way too long already.  
  
He thought that they knew stuff about each other that most married couples didn’t, he knew when and where Betty had lost her virginity, she knew what was in that secret drawer of his. What the remarkable thing was they still wanted to know one another after all this, they still wanted to be in each other’s lives. They still wanted to be together after watching each other screw up a thousand times. Well, maybe it was just he who had screwed up. Betty occasionally lost things, or leaked information (that had happened more than once actually) but she was still one of the best, kindest people he had ever had the fortune of knowing.   
  
She was his sunshine if he thought about it, she brightened up his darkest times; like when his father died, or his own battle with drugs, alcohol and sex. She lit up his world in more ways than one.   
“so, I had so much fun tonight!” Betty said, finishing up her dessert. Daniel smiled confidently, he had also bought that for her, especially since he really hoped food poisoning wouldn’t be on the menu.   
  
“good, do you think we will get to do this again?” he asked, feeling nervous. And as if he was fifteen again, his mouth was dry and his hands were so sweaty they couldn’t grip onto the door handle.   
  
“hmm, yes!” she grinned delightedly, moving aside to let him open the door. However, before she stepped out Daniel flung his arm across the doorframe stopping her in her tracks.   
  
“I think you forgot something?” he said, grinning at the small woman in front of him, her hair flyaway from the amount of times she had tossed it over her shoulder, in an attempt to be sexy and alluring. From his point of view, she didn’t even need to attempt to do that.  
  
Betty looked momentarily confused, then stepped closer to him, he could feel her breath against his chest as he leant down, one hand tilting her head, the other winding itself around her waist as he brought his lips to hers. It was weird how in tune they were sometimes, even surprising his mother. But, to Daniel and betty it felt perfectly natural, it felt like they were meant to be.  
  
When they parted, Betty nibbled on her kiss swollen bottom lip as she waved one final time, before stepping out of the front door. Daniel was left to lean against it, wondering where all the time had gone throughout the date since the hour was now late. For Daniel, there hadn’t been any revelations, they had all happened before the fateful scene in the ladies’ room, just affirmations that they felt right together.  
  
Maybe he should call his mom to tell her, this was one of the situations where dreams come true, and Daniel felt the need to yell that to everyone, maybe he should just go up to his roof and start to shout about it? He picked up his phone, nervous, his hands jittery as he dialled his mother’s number. He knew what she was going to say, and he could bet that it was going to be along the lines of ‘I told you so’ but that would only prove more that it was meant to be, hopefully meaning that it would last.   
  
“hello?” came the somewhat sleep addled reply of his mother. Daniel glanced at the clock, feeling somewhat guilty as it was eleven at night, which is one of the reasons why he hired a town car to take Betty home.   
  
“mom? It is me, the child who is still a son,”  
  
“tyl- erm, Daniel?” his mother said. Daniel froze momentarily, was she about to say Tyler? What was that about? Maybe they were planning to name Alex that, and she was thinking about the whole still a son thing. Then his mother cleared her throat, sounding quite annoyed. “Daniel, why are you calling so late? Your sister doesn’t call at these ridiculous times, and she lives in a different time zone, what do you want?” she asked, but Daniel could hear the underlying tones of concern in her voice.   
  
“sorry, mom. I wanted to tell you, I just went on a date with Betty,” he held his breath, biting the inside of his cheeks as he waited for the much-anticipated response, of what he hoped would be approval.   
  
“well, son that is wonderful. But, couldn’t it wait until morning, since I already could have guessed,” Daniel chuckled, just another version of the ‘I told you so’ that was sure to come his way, especially about the terms of loving Betty Suarez.  
  
“sorry, mom, I just wanted to tell someone, I am so happy right now!” Daniel practically sung through the phone. He could almost hear his mom rolling her eyes, she had been through the throes of love ten times over, and seven more than him… if you actually counted the relationships he had. He did love molly, and to some extent, Sofia, however he counted Betty as his first love. She always knew what was going on with him, always was there, supporting him, even when he had been downright cruel on a few occasions. But, he did love her, she was everything to him for these three years. Even when he was with molly, and trying to help her through her cancer Betty was beside him, guiding him through it too.   
  
“I know dear, love is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?” she said, knowing what Daniel would say, even if he never actually said the L word.   
  
“yep, it sure is. Sorry to disturb you mom,” suddenly bashful, he looked away from the phone.   
  
“it is okay, dear. Just, tell me during daylight hours next time,” she chuckled as he hung up. It appeared that everything was going to be okay


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

Daniel sat at his desk, rifling through the papers that lay, scattered along the glass surface. He had been waiting for quite a while for Betty’s family to vacate her small apartment, however, Betty had to go out with this fire inspector to move them up the list. Something he wasn’t happy about, but there was a very good reason why he wanted Betty’s family out of her apartment, he would gladly pay for all the repairs to her house if it could get Betty an empty apartment.   
  
She refused for their first time to be in molly’s old apartment, and as much as Daniel wanted that first time to be sometime soon he understood where she was coming from. It was a poignant moment, and molly was his late wife. It would be weird, as if he was dishonouring her memory, although he felt as if molly would have encouraged him and Betty to become a couple. She liked Betty, understanding the same need to care for him, despite everything that was going on in her life.   
  
“Daniel!” Betty practically skipped into his office smiling, and going up to his desk as he looked up, his eyebrows raised. “I have amazing news!” she said, grinning so hard he wouldn’t be surprised if Betty’s face split in two.   
  
“what is it?”  
  
“my family are moving out of my apartment, oh, and Hilda got engaged,”  
  
Daniel chuckled “really? ‘oh, and Hilda got engaged’ so I take it you are happy for you sister?” Daniel asked, Betty’s priorities being adorable. Especially when the certain priority was amazing for him too. They had been waiting for that certain event for a while, they had gotten the three dates out of the way pretty quickly, only within the space of a week, which was accounted for by their combined eagerness. But then, it was the matter of where? When? And how awkward would it be?   
  
Sex to Daniel, has always been something that was a given, something he couldn’t live without, so he later came to rely on, he didn’t date the kind of girls who would keep their legs crossed until the infamous third date. Normally he didn’t even get to the third date, since for him sex was generally the end of the line for whatever relationship. He couldn’t hold a conversation with these women, and he wasn’t a world class conversationalist, he could barely look them in the eye since all he saw was the deadened quality that came from years of dieting and too much Botox.  
  
Not, that he would ever tell Betty this, but he had planned to get Botox when he got older; older in his world was when you went past 35, he had the expiry date of a premiership league footballer, only his sport was women. He would never dream of doing any kind of Botox, especially since Betty would never let him live it down, considering she was dating him- she might actually dump him then.   
  
But, this time it was going to be different. She was Betty, she was independent, and powerful without means of money or a world class title. She could ruin him if she wanted to, but she wouldn’t do that because she was too nice. He was terrified of breaking her heart, but he was also scared of her breaking his. There was a part of him that was ashamed with how lovesick he was acting, being totally nervous about his first time with Betty, considering it was the thing that in some cases could make or break a deal. With Betty, he doubted it was one of those things that it would be for every other girl, however he knew there was much more to their relationship. Betty had wanted to take him dancing, but before she had even suggested it, he had gotten them tickets to a club. It was easy to date the person who could read your mind, and who you could do the same to.   
  
“ha, ha. Very funny. I am happy for her, bobby is a great guy, and they were gone yesterday, okay?” she asked, smiling broadly at him. Daniel nodded, taking her hands in his over the desk and kissing her gently.   
  
“are you really okay with it?” he asked, stroking along the smooth skin of the back of her hand. Betty shivered slightly under his touch.   
  
“yeah, I mean… we have been waiting a while, so I was thinking you could come over tomorrow night?” Betty asked, swinging their hands as they held onto each other. Daniel watched her over the table, the weighted question between them one he had been waiting for. They knew they were compatible, a match ever since the first week of working together, but sex was different. He was used to models with willowy frames and mile long limbs. He was well aware of that, and no amount of convincing Betty that he had been with regular women too would change that. But, he had also tried to tell her that she wasn’t just a regular woman. There were plenty of women who relied on makeup and expensive brands to look amazing, but there were also people that relied on their inner beauty to shine onto the outside. Those were the people who were truly beautiful.  
  
“good idea, are you going to order in takeout, or am I going to have the fire department on speed dial?” Daniel asked, moving around from behind his desk to stand in front of Betty. He knew it shouldn’t be such a big deal, but it was the point where it could make or break their relationship; and the friendship that they had been working on for years now.   
  
“Papi is leaving us with enough left-overs to feed a small army, and I think we are going to need that extra energy,” Betty said, moving closer to him, and wrapping her arms around his waist. Daniel responded, moving closer to Betty too, his arms wrapping around her waist however they started to drift south along her back. Betty didn’t say anything witty to Daniel’s advances, he privately wondered whether or not it was because she knew what was going to happen and was looking forward to it.  
  
They kissed for a few moments, it was supposed to be sweet, a goodbye kiss of such, however Daniel being Daniel, and Betty being Betty, both passionate people who ultimately let their hearts lead them made it so that it turned more into a full on make out session, where Betty soon had her back resting against Daniel’s desk as he leaned over her, meanwhile she was focussed on Daniel’s attentions to her collarbone and not crushing his laptop as she wriggled around on the desk.  
  
Eventually she pushed him up, smoothing her skirt over her hips as Daniel grinned, his crooked arc of a smile that made Betty feel as if she had liquefied right there on the glass and steel desk. Betty put her hand on his toned chest, over his sweater, pushing him back slightly. She looked guilty for a moment then spoke “Daniel, I am sorry to cut it off now, but it felt it was necessary otherwise our first time is going to be on your desk,”  
  
“you know, I don’t think I would mind that. I have had some pretty intense fantasies about that specific thing happening, Betty!” he said, biting his lip as he surveyed Betty’s mussed appearance. He tried to ignore her frown of disapproval.   
  
“maybe another time? I will see you tomorrow, don’t bring the fire department with you, I don’t want that creepy fireman coming with you,” she hopped off the desk, wobbling slightly in the heels so she teetered, leaning on Daniel.   
  
“okay, Betty...?” he said, moving slightly forward to intervene before she reached the door, he could do it, it had been weeks, he could face the music if there were any consequences. “erm, I love you!” he said, closing one of his eyes, not wanting to see her reaction with both of them if she was going to throw it back in his face.  
  
“I know,” he could see the smile light up her face out of her one open eye, as she nodded with him. “I love you too,” she smiled, leaving his office in a flurry of colour. Daniel watched her go, she didn’t need lights or makeup to make her beautiful, she was naturally amazing as he watched the lights from the tube bounce off her shiny hair. He was constantly amazed by her, this amazing example of a human being was part of his life, and he had never been luckier.    
  
Betty ran into her house, flicking her hair back from her face as it had gotten blown across in the blustery New York weather. She and Daniel had been dating for weeks and it had never been better. There were times when they just stayed awake talking to each other until the early hours of the morning talking about everything and nothing, however there were some times when they were rolling around, tangled in each other’s arms.   
Hilda was sitting in the living room, practicing how obviously, she could display her ring without someone moaning about her gloating, so far, she had scratched Betty’s glasses, as they sat on the table, trying to salvage what was left from the fire.  
  
“so…” Hilda said, only just having adjusted the sparkling diamond on her fingers, so it caught the light in an even more ostentatious manner.  
  
“enough about me, how are you and Daniel?” Betty blushed, imagining the questioning that was to come, not that she wasn’t going to give up the information, for the first time she had felt prettier than Hilda, more confident and like her own woman.   
  
“we are okay, I am meeting him at my place tomorrow, I think I am going to cook for him,” Betty said, brushing the hair dressing model doll head thing’s hair a bit harder to get out the tangles left by the smoke damage, and because she was feeling nervous.   
  
“huh? Is the fire department invited too?” Hilda asked, sassily putting her hands on her hips, only resting them high enough so the diamond is still visible.  
  
“I can see your diamond,” Betty said, frowning slightly at her sister’s audacity.   
  
“good. Now, have you and Daniel done…” she waved her hands around, forming some sort of obscene gesture with them as she demonstrated before even finishing her sentence. “… it?” Hilda asked, biting her lip. Betty sighed, feeling that Hilda knew full well the answer to that question, especially considering her whole family had been living in that tiny space ever since the fire.  
  
“no, Hilda we did it in the shower while you were all asleep! Of course, not! We didn’t have the space or the time.” Betty said, pressing her palms into her cheeks.  
  
“well, if it were me and bobby we would get creative. I mean, we already did- that is why I have this wonderful thing, it shows how much he loves me,” Hilda held her ring up by the side of her face smiling smugly. Betty glared at her sister, before Hilda mused on another idea “wait, what about his apartment, why do you gotta do it in your tiny place?”  
  
“in case you forgot, that is his dead wife’s old apartment, I am not having our first time to be there,” Betty argued, brandishing the hairbrush. Hilda tutted, then nodded. It was like her wise hairdresser’s nod, only with more scrutiny.   
  
“oh, you are one of those?” she asked.   
  
“one of what?” Betty sounded defensive, not knowing what Hilda was referring to.  
  
“the girls who want it all perfect for their first time with someone, for example when I lost my virginity it was in Santos’s car. Not romantic in the slightest,” she sucked her teeth momentarily in another attempt to pass on some wisdom to Betty “but, I thought you didn’t mind? Where did you lose yours, really? Don’t give me that bull about Walter’s parents being out of town, Papi saw them in the supermarket the next day,” Hilda raised her eyebrows, while Betty blushed a painful red.  
  
“in the back of his ProBuy van, and, by the way, why is this relevant? It is Daniel, I think I deserved to be wined and dined by a rich guy,” Betty said, knowing she sounded a little heartless, although she was also sure Hilda would see right through it.   
  
“okay, that is bull too! You love him!” Hilda reciprocated in a mocking tone, smiling at Betty as she flexed her body. Betty threw a hairbrush at Hilda, who dodged it easily.  
  
“you are gonna be paying for that, you do realise. Or maybe you could get Daniel to get me some new stuff, since you are dating a rich guy?” Hilda asked, reaching around behind her chair, to retrieve the brush and throw it back to Betty. Betty didn’t even try to catch it as it knocked the glasses off of her face.   
  
“I thought since you were engaged it didn’t matter? You know, love to sustain you?” Betty asked, picking up the glasses, and growling in frustration as she saw the arm was broken. She turned to Hilda, anger written all over her face. “thanks a lot, Hilda!”  
  
“it wouldn’t have gotten broken if you didn’t throw it at me in the first place!” she said, flicking a roller towards Betty. Betty sighed, she didn’t mind too much about the glasses, she knew that she needed new ones, with the diamond scratch and the broken arm, as well as Amanda’s goading.   
  
“okay, okay. But, do you really want to revitalise the salon?”  
  
“why don’t you get your rich boyfriend to buy me a new salon, maybe one closer to the city?”  
  
“Hilda, why would you do that, it takes me long enough to get into my work, and I don’t imagine MODE moving to Queens any time soon?” she asked, taking off her glasses, to resume brushing the model’s hair.  
  
“well, since I am engaged and all me and bobby were thinking of moving house,” Betty’s eyebrows suddenly shot up her forehead.  
  
“what?” she lowered her voice to a whisper, leaning across the table. If their father heard this he would be heartbroken, despite whatever new lady friends he had, Elena was still one of the only women with keys to his heart, and she was all the way in California, he was lonely.   
  
“shh, don’t freak out!” Hilda whispered too, despite the fact that Betty had lowered her voice she was very close to freaking out.  
  
“okay… geez. Just, how are you going to afford it?”   
  
“Betty, don’t worry. Bobby has family in construction, and I can’t just be the lady of the house. I was joking about the whole Daniel thing. I am getting my own salon, to be honest it is probably going to be in Brooklyn, since I don’t think we can afford Manhattan prices.” Hilda said, raising her eyebrows. Betty smiled, ecstatic for Hilda, although she was worried about Papi. Things had changed so quickly, and she didn’t want him to suddenly be all alone, with Hilda in the city and she living with Daniel or wherever they were going to end up.   
  
A year before she was open to change, moving on from henry, hoping that her life would still have some meaning, apart from running around doing Daniel’s laundry, since he hired maids, but they were useless, or slept with him.   
  
But, now it all seemed too fast. She had gotten a promotion, broken up with matt, got back together with matt, matt dumped her, she found out she had two months of back rent and then moved back into her apartment, finally moving on to dating Daniel, but she had enough of everything moving so fast; she was happy for Hilda, of course, but now felt more responsible for her family. She wanted to take care of Papi, but knew that Hilda had gone through so much so deserve all the happiness she wanted.   
  
She knew bobby, since she was a lot younger. He may be slightly thuggish, and… have family in construction, but he had always treated Hilda like the queen she was. However, Betty was so versed in the looking after of her family and Daniel included, it was such a strange thing to suddenly have no one to look after apart from herself.  
  
“wow, I guess you have had all your dreams come true,”  
  
“yeah, it made me believe in fairy tales again, especially when I imagine the look on Justin’s face when I tell him we are moving closer to the city,” she smiled, attacking the doll’s head again.   
  
“that is amazing Hilda,” Betty said, moving onto trying to brush out her own doll’s head.   
  
Hilda gave Betty a funny look, smirking slightly “don’t you believe in fairy tales? You used to be obsessed about handsome princes. Heck, every time bobby came to the door I would find you all decked out in pearls and whatnot for his arrival,”  
  
“I have Daniel now. I think for a while, I stopped believing in fairy tales. I think after the whole henry debacle,” she sighed, spraying the detangle spray onto the dolls head.  
  
“yeah, but now you have got, like, a real prince. I bet Daniel even has a castle?”  
  
“he doesn’t have a castle,” Betty sighed, however she found herself giggling at the thought of Daniel having his own castle, he could buy one if he wanted to. In her latest skype call to Christina she told Betty of how her father was thinking of investing in a castle, which wasn’t as expensive as Betty thought it would be.   
  
“sure, he must have some other fancy building, I mean matt practically lived in a castle,” she said, putting her hairbrush down, and reaching for her nail file.   
  
“it wasn’t a castle. Just a really, really big house. Anyway, thanks to you guys in my apartment me and Daniel haven’t been able to,” she made a face, just a few steps short of an obscene gesture.  
  
“oh, okay… so you and Daniel haven’t had sex yet?” Hilda asked, however Betty was so embarrassed about the answer, it was bad enough matt backing away as if she was diseased when she tried to seduce him, but only to find out she was some kind of remedy for his own sex addiction.  
  
“yeah,”  
  
“big deal, Betty! I knew that it was going to be a bit awkward, especially since you guys have known each other for so long, you have been friends for years, and suddenly Daniel and you are bumping uglies,” Hilda shrugged while Betty bit her lip. She had never thought of it like that, there were the occasional fleeting moments of panic when she would pass by a mirror and see who she really was, or Amanda would stroll by, a size zero with perfect… everything. She had adult braces, for god’s sake.   
  
“I didn’t think about that,” Betty said, looking down at the patterned table cloth. Hilda realised, cutting off Betty before she thought any more about it.   
  
“look, but don’t worry about that. I only said it might be awkward since you have been friends for so long, but that is sometimes a really good thing!” Hilda raised her eyebrows again, nodded as she did so. “anyway, that was only at first, but then I saw how all over each other you guys were, so I thought it wouldn’t be long, until we showed up and cramped your style,” she sighed, filing her nails down. Betty was feeling soothed, only marginally however.   
  
“thanks Hilda. So, what should I do for tomorrow,”  
  
“um, get some real nice clothes, ones he can rip off really easy, oh, and let me do your eyebrows,” Hilda produced a pair of tweezers, as she approached the rapidly blinking Betty. “oh, and get rid of these!” Hilda threw Betty’s glasses over her shoulder, smiling at her sister as she descended with the tweezers.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little awkward here, mainly because of how much of an abysmal communicator Daniel is!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

Betty sat, waiting for Daniel to come through the door. She was nervous, jittery with anticipation, simply because this was the build up to an event there was no going back from. It wasn’t like they could just erase the image of the other person naked from their minds if this didn’t work out, and Betty went back to being sad ugly Betty, whose boyfriend ran off to Africa to escape from her. It was probably just pre-game nerves, since she couldn’t imagine this moment was going to happen, right on schedule.   
  
It felt strange to say that she had scheduled it, although not to be expected, she scheduled everything else in Daniel’s life, which, strangely enough didn’t include their dates. Daniel had been better at doing that himself, and since Betty wasn’t his assistant any more she seemed to have more time for herself. There were some parts of her that felt as if they were a good twenty years ahead of where they should be, more like an old married couple already scheduling sex. Hopefully Daniel wouldn’t see it that way too.   
  
She knew he was commitment-phobe, even with his proposal and subsequent marriage to molly, however there was some part of Betty (who she berated every time she thought that) Daniel had only married molly because she was dying. Of course, she didn’t say this to him, not wanting to disrespect his late wife.  
  
Suddenly Betty heard Daniel knock on her door, well, what she was hoping was Daniel since he was supposed to be bringing dinner to her, instead of the other way around. Betty sighed, looking at her hands as she opened the door. She had gotten a dress from the closet, this time deciding she was going to take matters into her own hands when choosing clothes. Betty could imagine what would happen if she told Amanda tonight was the night, Betty doubted Amanda would give Betty anything to wear at all, after all one of her more infamous mottos were how no one could feel ugly naked. Easy to say if you were Amanda, however not everyone weighed as much as Betty’s shoes alone.  Thus, she had ended up wearing an extremely short and tight red dress, something that would be more suited to another of Daniel’s girlfriends, not frumpy ugly Betty.  
  
However, when Daniel arrived at the door the look on his face didn’t reflect her inner worries, in fact he looked thrilled, looked as if something amazing had just dropped right in his lap. That could happen if he played his cards right, Betty thought somewhat devilishly. In her mind, it had sort of been something out of her fairy tales, however Daniel didn’t go for princesses that were sweet, innocent, had been asleep for a hundred years and missed all the action. Daniel went for confident seductress’s, ones who hadn’t missed out on any parties. Definitely not ones who had missed out on prom, only to hold her own anti-prom.   
  
But, Betty was far from the confident seductress she had envisaged. She was short, frumpy and not at all co-ordinated. Betty knew that in her previous experience with trying to seduce matt that grace and balance was very important in the art of seduction. Daniel stepped into the door, holding a single red rose in between his teeth, looking incredibly cheesy. Betty chuckled, taking the thorn-less rose from in his mouth, handing it to her with a flourish. Betty ran up to Daniel, taking the rose graciously before falling into his embrace. Daniel moved his arms up, cradling Betty in front of him, only holding her away from him only to see the expression on her face.  
  
“thank you, Daniel!” she squealed, leaning against his chest and signing thankfully.   
  
“hey, you remember that time when you stood me up on the night of matt’s art show?” Daniel asked, while Betty bit her lip, trying to remember that night, and succeeding, however felt like teasing Daniel the same way he had done to her the next morning.   
  
“erm…” she pondered, biting her lip. Daniel could see through her gentle teasing, as one of Daniel’s hands snuck around to the ticklish spot on her ribcage. She giggled slightly, then smiled at him “yes, I do.”  
  
“you know I told you those roses signified friendship? Well, they also meant to start to fall in love too,” Daniel said, grinning at her. Betty broke into a wider grin, she had wondered about that, especially when Hilda had made some confusing comments about them, Hilda was given a lot of roses by ex-boyfriends, especially when they were trying to seduce her. Hilda had reasoned that is what most red roses meant, for a woman to be seduced. Betty certainly wasn’t going to argue with that.  
  
“really? Well, I think in that case they succeeded, because I do love you Daniel,”  
  
“I know, I love you too, baby."  
  
“I would really hope so, considering what is going down tonight,” she said, in a singsong tone. Daniel chuckled, lifting the bags of food in the air before she could kiss him. Betty pouted slightly, only trying to retrieve the bags when she realised that Daniel was moving towards the table, in her plan they wouldn’t even be having dinner first, however Daniel seemed to have something else on his mind apart from sex. Maybe he was nervous too, because this wasn’t the Daniel she knew. Still, this could very well be his first time since molly, so he would naturally be a bit apprehensive, it wasn’t that often that someone would fall in love this soon after the death of a loved one.  
  
He put the white takeout bags on the table, unloading the Indian food inside, Betty guessed Daniel would have remembered that thing Sofia wrote in her book, all those years before… she practically quivered with anticipation, which may sound like Betty was being overdramatic, but she was excited. Betty waited impatiently for Daniel to unload the food, while she felt like literally jumping Daniel, who seemed oblivious of her haste. He pottered about, pulling the food out of the cartons of food out, and spooning mouthfuls in before he loaded up the plates.   
  
“Daniel?” she wheedled, winding her arms around his waist from behind, with Daniel clearly trying to resist her since he hadn’t said anything at all to her and continued heaping spoonsful onto their plates.    
  
“why don’t we eat first, I am not quite ready yet?” he said backing away from her, however, he didn’t say anything. Betty bit her lip, her insecurities bubbling up until they were just below the surface. What if Daniel had changed his mind, what if he didn’t want to do this because she wasn’t like the others? Betty wondered all this, tears already welling in her eyes, however all he had said was that he wasn’t ready yet. That could mean a lot of different things, it could mean that he wanted to eat before anything, it could mean he wanted to surprise her.   
  
“okay… what do you mean by not quite ready yet?” she asked, tapping the knife against the plate as she picked at her own food.   
  
“erm, I’m not ready, ready,” he gestured to his lap before Betty got his meaning. Her mouth hung open slightly, completely shocked since it was Daniel, he was one of the biggest playboys New York had to offer. Betty didn’t say anything, however blinked again, by now she had affirmed her beliefs that it was definitely her, of course, she wouldn’t pique his interest. She was plain, Daniel had his eye on shiny things, always had, always will. Betty backed away from him, not looking at Daniel since he didn’t want to say anything else about it, he too was looking at his plate as if it had suddenly grown wings red in the face, then, it hit her. He was embarrassed too, Daniel wasn’t doing this because it was her, he was doing this because it was the first time since his late wife, who he loved so much, however had a very short time with. It wasn’t fair for Betty to put herself in the victim’s seat saying how it was Daniel who was in the wrong, because she was too ugly and he was too fickle.  
  
Betty glanced up at Daniel, where there had been waves of insecurities these were now replaced by guilt. Daniel was looking worse than how she felt about it, he was really embarrassed, and her blaming him wasn’t helping. “Daniel, it is okay. It must be difficult the first time since…” she gave him a weak smile “but it doesn’t mean I love you any less,”  
  
“but, I can’t really do anything about it right now, because before… it worked, from the minute I see your face,” he sighed, grumpily, his words not at all reflecting his tone of voice. Betty sighed, she hated Daniel feeling guilty, especially because only seconds earlier she had been saying he should feel guilty, although, thankfully not out loud.  
  
“I know, but it just makes me love you more, it shows me that the playboy part of you is gone forever,” Betty reached across the table to hold onto his hand. Daniel smiled gratefully, gripping hers back. Betty was delighted with some of the other things Daniel had said, like how he could just look at her and get turned on, that boosted her confidence, which had been in tatter’s a few moments earlier.  
  
“yeah. I did bring a movie, in case I was unable to perform.” He fished out another thing from the bag while Betty bit her lip, sighing.   
  
“really? _Die hard_? Couldn’t you have brought something I would like?” she asked, pretending to be exasperated. Daniel chuckled, throwing the paper bag at her from his chair.  
  
“Betty, as much as I do love you, I am not sitting through _Bridget jones’s diary_ , for the third time!” he said, standing up from the chair and moving over to her couch, turning on the television before he put the movie in. Daniel patted the spot next to him on the worn couch, winking at Betty. She sighed, however lifted her plate too and brought it over to him. Daniel managed to keep Betty from complaining too much throughout the movie, although she did enjoy it she wasn’t about to let Daniel know that, especially since he was so determined on making her watch it, he had even agreed to watch a chick flick with her just to shut her up.   
  
“Daniel, do you think I am pretty?” Betty asked, at the end of the movie where she had been falling asleep against Daniel’s chest until she had started to worry again that is why Daniel didn’t feel up to it tonight. Daniel was half asleep, and more likely to speak his mind.   
  
“that is an incredibly stupid question,” he said, rubbing his eyes as he relaxed further against the couch, holding her more securely around the waist. Betty bristled at his sharp answer, mainly because the second part of the answer could go so many ways. He could pull her down many, many pegs, or he could say something genuinely nice to her. Daniel wasn’t the best communicator when he wasn’t half asleep and slightly drunk. “you know I don’t date ugly girls Betty. You are beautiful, but those braces need to come off,” he said, trying to tickle her, however in his drunk state it wouldn’t work. That did cheer her up, but she already knew about the braces, but it didn’t stop the question which had been at the back of her mind.  
  
“is that why you wouldn’t sleep with me?” she asked, looking hurt. Daniel groaned, sighing as he tried to turn Betty around on his lap, have her facing him.  
  
“not in the slightest, I might say no to a blowjob but-,”  
  
“Daniel!” Betty shrieked, hitting him playfully on the shoulder. He rolled his eyes, happy to mess with her as he always was.  
  
“anyway, I wouldn’t do that, because I know how you worry. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but I don’t think tonight was the night. some of us work better under pressure, some don’t.” Daniel said, gently bringing his hands up from her sides to cup her face. Betty looked into his eyes, seeing nothing but sincerity there. She sighed happily, putting her head gently onto Daniel’s shoulder breathing in his man scent. She thought molly’s poem must have been accurate, or she hoped it would be. Betty just hoped she would get there eventually. Betty honestly wondered whether Daniel was just making a fuss over nothing, they had barely kissed that day, so he might not have had enough time to tell yet.   
  


Daniel gripped her around her waist tighter as he breathed into her neck, against her better senses she found herself resisting to Daniel’s advances, however much Betty felt that they weren’t going to go anywhere. Betty shifted slightly, trying to wake Daniel up, especially using her rather obvious position on his lap to try and wake him up. She wasn’t going to sleep on the couch anyway.

 

 

  
Betty awoke to the smell of smoke throughout her apartment, she sat up, wrapped in her sheets so tightly in the comforter that she toppled off the bed onto her wooden floor. Then Betty recognised the smell as bacon, which went with the rest of breakfast, hopefully for her. She never thought Daniel could cook, although on some of their dates he had proved that he was able to cook her a decent meal, although Betty would bet that he had just stuck something in a microwave to impress her.   
  
She manged to unravel herself from the cocoon of her comforter to go out into the main room of her apartment, very aware that she was only in her underwear, having changed at some point in the night. Daniel, however was dressed, in jeans and his t-shirt, which highlighted his toned chest and biceps. Betty stood in the doorway, suddenly shy. The curviest woman Betty had seen Daniel with was Sofia, because even molly was thin. Sofia might have had curves, but they were in the right places. Her boobs were big, and she didn’t have such a big ass as Betty did, not to mention cellulite. Sofia barely had any of that, but when Daniel turned around it was obvious that he didn’t really mind.   
  
“aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” he asked, smiling happily at Betty as she got up the courage to pad across the cold floorboards of the main room to Daniel’s side, she sniffed appreciatively at the food in the pan. Daniel chuckled happily at Betty, who grinned back at him, her hand hovering over the plate of food he had already set out, it was summer berries arranged in a concentric circle on top of a bowl of yogurt. Smiling, Betty complimented Daniel’s art work of a breakfast.   
  
“how long were you awake?” she took one of the raspberry haves from the bowl, sticking it in between her lips.  
  
“quite a while, concentric circles are hard to do in fruit, Betty,” he said, shooing her hands away from the bowl as he put the bacon on the plate next to it, along with pancakes! Betty grinned delightedly, reaching for the food, however Daniel held it above her head. “nuh, uh! I need a payment for this food,” he put it on the table, leaning against the wood and blocking Betty’s view of the food. She pouted.   
  
“what? Sex?” she asked, moving closer to him. Daniel started to laugh, as Betty pulled a pouty face, as he chortled she stopped short of him, frowning and putting her hands on her hips.  
  
“no, sweetie. I think I just meant a kiss, before we tire you out I think you deserve feeding?”  
  
“okay, fair enough,” she said, gently pushing Daniel aside to get to the food, secretly praying that she wasn’t going to get food poisoning, although she was sure she was worse at cooking than Daniel was. She burnt water, for Pete’s sake. “Daniel… how did you learn to cook?” she asked, smiling somewhat happily as she tucked in, finding the food was good, in the yogurt there were crunchy pine nuts and another yogurt layer.  
  
“you are wondering if I am going to accidentally give you food poisoning, right?” he asked, while Betty nodded, however tried to smile, so it seemed she would have a little faith left in Daniel, she did trust him, but only a few weeks ago, Daniel had been as hopeless as her, admitting the food on their first date was a ready meal.   
  
“erm, maybe… I just wondered because I didn’t know you even had set foot in a supermarket before,” Daniel feigned indignancy, putting his hand on his chest in an affected manner, while Betty giggled.   
  
“well, considering my girlfriend is used to having such high-quality food, I thought I might scratch up my cooking skills a bit,” he shrugged, pulling his own plate of food towards him.   
  
“did you take cooking classes?” Betty asked, smiling. She knew Daniel did all sorts of things to impress women, but mostly it was to do with his money, or to show up another guy, not just for their benefit.  
  
“sort of, only it is a one on one, and the chef is one of the best in the world,” Daniel chuckled at her as she mused over the answer.  
  
“who is it?” Betty chewed her pine nuts, as she spoke.  
  
“well, he does work at this restaurant of a famous TV chef…” Daniel said, in the teasing voice when she was being slow at getting one of his awful jokes.   
  
“is it my dad? Why has he been giving you cooking lessons?” Betty asked, grinning slightly.  
  
“I presume because he doesn’t want me to give his youngest daughter food poisoning, but I could be wrong…” he shrugged again, stealing some of the fruit halves off of Betty’s bowl of yogurt. Betty grinned, happy in her own little world with Daniel beside her, even though Daniel had issues the previous night, but surely it was a onetime thing.   
  
They hadn’t even kissed, yet Daniel was quick to say he wasn’t in the mood last night. Betty knew he worried about disrespecting molly, and her memory. When molly had died, it had been so hard on Daniel, especially as it seemed like the furthest Daniel had ever gone in a relationship that Betty had witnessed, and while after the amount of time of knowing someone wasn’t a cause for marriage in most cases, it would be just the beginning throes of a relationship. Although her relationship with henry had lasted around the same time, and she had refused his proposal.   
  
But after four years, she and Daniel knew each other better than anyone else knew them, perhaps with the exception of their families. But, Betty could understand if it felt like it was going against the memory of molly since they knew each other better than Daniel would ever get to know molly. She suddenly realised when she saw Daniel’s hand waving up and down in front of her face that he had been talking, while she had been daydreaming and feeling guilty.   
  
“earth to Betty! Are you alright?” Daniel asked, getting up from his seat to peer into Betty’s eyes. Betty rubbed her eyes behind her glasses as she nodded at Daniel in response.   
  
“yep, sorry. I was just enjoying your breakfast so much that I spaced out for a moment,” she smiled weakly at him, overcome with all the worries swirling around her head.  
  
“as much as I want to take that compliment, I don’t think that is true Betty. You look worried.” Daniel glanced at Betty again, who wasn’t looking at him, instead at the edge of the striped table cloth.  “I bet I can make you feel less worried,” he slid his hand along her knee, his fingers gently caressing the skin of her thigh.  For a moment, Betty let herself shiver as she gave in to what Daniel was doing to her, the sensations from the innocent (ish) point of contact on her thigh, spreading to her spine and making her warm all over, then she realised why she was feeling guilty. She felt like she was taking molly’s place with Daniel, who clearly wasn’t ready for another serious relationship if he couldn’t even rise to the occasion.   
  
“nothing, I’m fine,” she snapped, moving his hand away from her leg with a sharp flick of her wrist, then feeling horribly underdressed. She practically ran into her bedroom, ignoring the little partition in the wall so Daniel could see through, well aware that she was changing. He didn’t wait at the table, instead took a deep breath, coming into her bedroom. “do you mind? I am changing!” Betty said, frowning at Daniel as she pulled on a pastel coloured skirt from the bottom of her wardrobe.   
  
“yeah, I can see that. I just wondered what all that was about?” Daniel didn’t sound cross, he sounded worried, and sad. This was worse than him being mad because she rudely pushed him away. She would have preferred if Daniel had gotten mad at her, even shouted. Then she could blame someone else for getting upset.  
  
“I don’t know, I just don’t think-,” she was stopped by Daniel saying something, although Betty didn’t really know what she would have said.   
  
“is this because of last night?” his voice made him seem younger, tied with the deeply wounded expression on his face.   
  
“erm,” Betty blushed. It would have been easy to say it was because of that, although that would make her seem like a heartless bitch.  
  
Because, then she wouldn’t make Daniel face her worries about molly. He had had a hard-enough time going through that when it was only him fretting about moving on, now she was too.   
  
Betty not only felt it was disrespectful, since she had known Daniel for longer, and just as they were getting started with the life they could have had it was all taken away so quickly. Whereas, she had seen Daniel at his worst, and him too, when she ‘trimmed her bangs with a lighter’ and didn’t know the difference between most designers and fancy pasta dishes. But, they would have the chance to make many more memories, while molly wouldn’t. Another reason why Betty was so upset about it, was because of Daniel not being able to perform. She didn’t blame him, that would just be cruel, but she felt it was because he was still in love with molly. Not her, at all.   
  
“I see,” Daniel said, as through all her panicking she was unaware it had been quite a while of silence. He looked at her, even more hurt than before, then he bit his lip, backing out of her bedroom.   
  
“Daniel please wait, I didn’t mean it like that.”  
  
“Betty. Please, I don’t think I can do this right now,” he said, as it was very apparent that it would seem as if Betty was the one blaming Daniel, and she didn’t have anything to say to defend herself, even though that wasn’t what she had originally thought.   
  
“Daniel, please?” she begged, pulling her top over her head hurriedly, even though Daniel’s pace to leave her apartment was in no way frantic.  
  
“what Betty? Please don’t lie and say it isn’t because of that, I can see it written all over your face,” he said, dejectedly.   
  
“I-,” she couldn’t say anything before Daniel has stormed out of the room, picking up his bag from over the chair and shutting the door behind him. Betty expected it to be a loud slam, courtesy of an angry man, but Daniel wasn’t angry. Just upset.   
  


She couldn’t bear upsetting him because it was because of that, not that particular thing because she didn’t blame him for that, however it was because of what Betty thought after, she realised how it wasn’t right for her to be in a relationship with Daniel when he wasn’t over molly yet. But, he obviously thought it was because of that, even though she would never ridicule him because of that. He was just getting over his dead wife, which is partially why she didn’t want them to do anything this morning, but she felt silly. She had done so much to prepare, but then in the end it was her own fault with all her worries and insecurities that Daniel walked out the door.

 

 

  
Daniel sat in the town car, his head in his hands, and his face burning with the shame of the situation. He knew what was wrong with him, and it wasn’t Betty. He had only just realised that Betty didn’t know about his fling with Amanda, who was successful in keeping her mouth shut for once in her life.  
  
Daniel hadn’t told Betty; however, he had always just assumed Amanda had blabbed to her only female bestie. Then to realise that Betty blamed his inability to perform on the recent loss of molly, he realised she really _didn’t_ know about him and Amanda. So, it was his fault, because he was too busy feeling guilty to actually perform. He knew that he should have told Amanda about Betty, especially because Betty was now panicking about something else that she wouldn’t tell him, miscommunication was the problem, but Daniel just had to find the solution.   
  
He stopped as the car drew up to his place, the headlights flashing as it stopped and the courteous driver stepping out of his seat to open the door for Daniel, sometimes Daniel hated being treated better than everyone else, especially since he was feeling so guilty.  
  
He didn’t blame Betty for getting mad at him, although he did feel it was a bit unfair that she got mad over that particular thing, especially when she didn’t know about the Amanda thing, and it was a physical function, not something he could do much about- when he was feeling so guilty. He should have told her, he was planning to after all- however his progress was somewhat impinged when Betty seemed so eager to start.   
  
But, he was about to tell her, not be ready because he wanted to take something off his chest. But, the look of hurt in Betty’s eyes was too much to bear, he knew all about the nagging insecurities that bubbled just below the surface- so talking about Amanda wouldn’t have been very aiding to her worry.   
  
Molly was a safer bet, she knew all about that. Daniel could blame it on his emotions, something Betty had always encouraged him to do: feel! But, instead of saying he felt guilty because this wasn’t his first time since molly, and Betty didn’t know that. And judging by her reaction to just him being unable to get it up was enough for Daniel to not want to tell her. Betty was nervous, he understood that.  
  
He was terrified himself, but it didn’t mean she should get irritable about that. For once he felt indignant about something, although it was his fault. If he had just told Betty in the first place, then none of this would be happening. He was fine in the morning, which is why he had just started to hit on Betty- although she pushed him away for some inexplicable reason. He might have befriended a lot of women; however, he didn’t have a clue what was going on in their minds.   
  
When he got into the building he discarded his phone, not wanting to see his mother’s frantic apologies for having an illegitimate son. He was sure Betty wouldn’t have called or texted. When she was mad she was the freezing out type. He just hoped he hadn’t screwed up too badly, even though it wasn’t entirely his fault. He hated blaming people, it felt so wrong to do considering there was so much going on in his family. Nearly everyone blamed his father, especially Alexis and his mother. Alexis blamed their father since he was unable to accept who she was, his mother blamed his father for all the problems she went through with his incessant infidelity. He felt like he had cheated on Betty, even though he ended with Amanda before he even kissed her, before he even realised what he had been missing all these years was right in front of his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: -I don't own Ugly Betty-

Daniel flicked his eyes over the format of MODE’s newest story. He didn’t say anything, only he was supposed to be assessing the work of the newest editor. So far, it wasn’t that impressive, but he had nothing better to do, as he was waiting for something, anything else to do. He looked up from his laptop as a banging sounded on the door. Could he be bothered to get up?

“Daniel, please open the door. I know you are mad!” the voice said, sounding suspiciously like Betty. He definitely could be bothered to get up, placing his laptop back against the seat of the sofa. He went to the door, opening it to see Betty outside the door “Daniel…” she said, blinking miserably. She was dressed in her normal yoga pants that she wore on her days off, despite Daniel insisting she would look fabulous in jeans, however she had a silver slinky top on over them. She did look stunning.

“Betty, what is going on?” he asked, leaning against the door frame as he leant against it, looking slightly annoyed. Even though, he was delighted inside, that she had even turned up, giving him a second chance.

“I am so sorry Daniel, I really am. I didn’t mean to get so upset over it, I really didn’t mean to!” Betty said, putting her head in her hands as she faced Daniel. Betty looked as if she was about to start crying, which Daniel couldn’t bear. He couldn’t bear it if anyone cried, which is why he didn’t often go and see the women the morning after, because if they shouted he could cope, but if they cried- Daniel would be pretty much useless. He would have given in to anything they asked him for, but not many women came crying to him, he seemed too important for that to be relevant.

“Betty, stop crying, please?” he said, moving closer to her, hovering. She looked up, through her small fingers and their scrap of silver nail polish. Her deep brown eyes pleased for him not be mad, although she wasn’t aware that Daniel was blaming himself more than her; however, he didn’t wrap his arms around her right there, so it was obvious that he was apprehensive. She bit her bottom lip, moving forward, while Daniel shut the door behind her, welcoming her into his apartment. 

“okay, Daniel, please don’t think it was because of that! I am so, so sorry. You can’t imagine how sorry I am. It was very insensitive of me,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut to try and stop the tears from leaking out from her eyes. She didn’t look back up at Daniel, until he had responded.

“Betty, you don’t have to be sorry. I am sure you had your reasons to overreact, and my own for not being able to… you know you aren’t going to be very happy about,”

“it isn’t because of molly?” she asked, finally looking up from her palms and letting the tears that had been threatening to spill, finally to do so. 

“not really,” Daniel said guiltily. 

“Daniel what happened?” she asked, her bottom lip sticking out as she panicked.

“I have slept with someone since molly,” he said, waiting for her reaction. Betty didn’t say anything, instead collapsed into her chair, looking woebegonely at Daniel. “I tried in the Bahamas to have a fling, like you said, but I couldn’t do it, then I spoke with Amanda. She didn’t have a problem with a little arrangement.” He admitted, fearing how it could end up so much worse than he imagined. 

“you slept with Amanda?” her voice sounded far off, scared. He felt immediately worse, she didn’t seem angry, she seemed unhappy, insecure. He hated her feeling like that, since it was one of Betty’s biggest problems, to worry about her appearance, compared to everyone else’s, especially with all the models at MODE. He didn’t want to upset her further so Daniel stood there in silence, looking uneasy.

“yeah,” he finally said, still waiting for Betty to react.

“why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, blinking at him through the tears that made her eyes glossy.

“I didn’t want to worry, and the only reason why I couldn’t perform is because I felt so bad about not telling you,” he admitted guiltily, shuffling his feet against the wooden floor, he didn’t know how to find out what Betty was feeling, since she had lowered her head, not giving him a clear of view of her expression.

“it isn’t because I am too ugly?” she asked, wondering as Daniel hadn’t responded to her silence.

“Betty,” he sounded irritated now “why do you think you are ugly, you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen,” 

“but you watch models on the runway, I am no model,” she said dejectedly.

“do you remember what I said to you that night on the bridge?” Daniel asked, bending down to hold on to one of Betty’s legs. He gently rubbed the fabric as she still didn’t look up. He could understand if Betty was angry, betrayed, however he had told her the truth, he had apologised, there wasn’t much else to say at this point. He knew that Betty wouldn’t be bought out into trusting him again, personally wondering why she hadn’t asked when he had ended his short lived and casual relationship with Amanda. 

“not really, you said a lot of stuff then Daniel,” she mumbled. He crouched down further in front of her, trying to etch a smile onto his face even though he felt like his life was falling apart.

“do you remember I said you were better than any model, Betty?” he asked, trying to get one of the signature Betty smiles that he had started to crave like a drug. She shrugged her shoulders, however under the canopy of dark hair he could almost see a smile begin to appear on her face. “do you know I was telling the truth, and not just speaking about your heart there?”

“you really think I am prettier than a cover model?” she said, looking up to face Daniel as she scrunched her eyebrows together. Daniel could clearly say that she was, her curves were womanly and made him dizzy. Her eyes were like pools of deep brown, expressive, her lips were things people could die for, or just pay a lot of money, either way. 

“much prettier,”

“but, I am fat,” she frowned again, clearly not believing his kind words. Daniel snorted in disagreement. Betty might have been softer than the hard muscle and taught skin from the models, however she wasn’t fat. She was soft, supple, curvy.

“erm, no you are not! You have big boobs and a big-,”

“erm, I don’t think I need to hear the rest of that,” she said, chuckling. She sat up properly, pushing the hair out of her eyes, then smiled properly at Daniel, her braces flashing. 

“anyway, aside from that. You are much more beautiful, you have inner beauty that radiates from the inside. So, I am so sorry, Betty. I know it isn’t fair to you to have to cope with this, but please don’t be mad at me, you can ask me anything?” he said, sitting back on his couch, pulling his laptop onto his lap again, however his eyes remained trained on Betty.

“when did it end?” she moved over to Daniel, her movements fluid, graceful, something that Daniel didn’t see normally in her adorable klutziness. 

“before we even got together,” Daniel raised his eyebrows, hoping she would believe him because it was the truth. 

“good, so, it was just because you felt bad about not telling me you slept with Amanda?” she asked, biting her lip gently, something which drove Daniel crazy with lust. So, crazy he couldn’t help but go up and kiss her on the lips, taking Betty by surprise; only making her melt into his kiss even more. 

“yeah, not because of you at all Betty.” He said, in between kisses as they were standing in the middle of the floor, practically inseparable. His hands were hanging low on her body, gripping her clothes as he was desperate to get closer. He was still intrigued as to why Betty was angry at him earlier, she hadn’t figured out about the Amanda thing, however the idea that she simply thought he was too fickle to really love her didn’t sit well with him. Betty might have been insecure about her own body; however, she didn’t ever doubt him, not even when he was worth doubting.   
She didn’t ever think he was that fickle, especially after marrying molly. 

He tried to do what was best for both of them, especially because he wanted to fulfil whatever wishes molly had before her death. He had always believed Betty had faith in him, and although he may keep somethings from him, it was never that serious. He saw that Betty was more than happy to continue, kissing his neck with renewed vigour. 

“Betty, why were you mad at me?” he asked, pulling away from her, having to meet with her angry expression.

“do we have to speak about this right now?” she asked, frowning and pushing Daniel away from her, Daniel sighed. She was going on the defensive, again, when he brought up that topic, when just a moment ago, she had been perfectly willing to continue their relationship, then he would ask a perfectly reasonable question and she would be mad at him again.

“yes, we do. I am okay now, I could take you right on this couch if you want?” he asked, he knew that adopting his normal jokey tone was a poor coping mechanism, however he didn’t know what else to say. He didn’t know what was on Betty’s mind, because her mood towards him could be affected by a blink of an eye. She blushed, shaking her head in response to his question, it was almost like she was embarrassed.

“Daniel, it is nothing. You got what you needed to get off your chest, I am okay now. I have stopped worrying that I am too unattractive.” She sounded even more unconvinced than when she had insisted she was fine the night before.

“Betty, tell me, remember, I have known you for a long time. I can tell when you are lying.” He pulled her down to sit next to him, her hands folded over in his lap. She was still avoiding his gaze, and it hurt. She was obviously still thinking about that moment, even though he had explained to it, if she was embarrassed by it, imagine how he felt. He knew Betty had issues with her appearance, and was painfully self-conscious sometimes, he wouldn’t do anything deliberately to upset her. This, however, he couldn’t do much about.

“just…” she said, her voice crackling so much it punctuated every syllable. He felt his heart break just a little bit, he couldn’t stand anyone being sad, and Betty was no exception, especially Betty. He couldn’t stand to see her even a little bit upset

“Betty, it is okay, please don’t be sad. Just tell me what is going on. I won’t be mad, I promise!” he said, moving ever so slightly closer to her, the one-way Daniel knew how to comfort people was with physical pleasure, he knew Betty probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

“I don’t think that we are supposed to be.” She said, her face even more downcast. His heart stuttered slightly, she didn’t want to be together, because of what? One slight technical issue? What did she expect from him, he knew that his love life had been splashed across the media, making him out to be some sort of God, but Betty knew him, it hurt to think his best friend and the person who he trusted the most could turn him down because he couldn’t perform?

“right.” His voice was breaking as badly as hers was, but he needed to know why. Every other time they had kissed it felt like a thousand fireworks going off in his head, did she never feel the same thing. 

“Daniel please don’t feel bad about it-,”

“Betty, don’t! Just tell me why you think that?” he asked, his tone firm. He hoped it wouldn’t make him more upset. She looked as if it was the last thing she wanted to even consider doing for a moment, then raised her head again.

“because you will never love me like you loved her,” she said, her voice so faint Daniel wondered if he had imagined her actually speaking, but he did. He heard every word. The truth was sometimes hard to come to terms with, whether it would be something you had been dreading for months, or an off the cuff moment, it still hit you hard, and sometimes where you had been least expecting it.

It was molly, of course it was. Betty had suffered a loss of her own, and knew well enough that the memory of that person didn’t just go away, even if they weren’t around anymore. But, it didn’t mean he couldn’t love, it didn’t change the fact he had been in love with Betty way before he even met molly. But, she didn’t know that, he wasn’t that good at recognising love. He understood he loved Betty, however had been unaware that he had been slowly leaving the platonic frame of mind behind.

“Betty…” he said, not able to say how much he loved her, not wanting to disrespect molly’s memory, but not wanting to upset Betty further.

“Daniel, don’t ‘Betty’ me!” her tone was exasperated, not annoyed. “I know you are still getting over molly, so, I don’t think that you will love me-,”

“you don’t think I can love you enough,” it was one thing to doubt herself (which Daniel had been doing for years to discourage that) but to doubt his love for her. He knew that sometimes he wasn’t the most forthright with his feelings, but he hadn’t ever sold short how much he loved Betty.  
She looked up at him, with tears in her eyes, he was unsure whether or not he was right about it. “no, Daniel I didn’t say that! I don’t think that I am good enough for you, especially since you are still in love with molly,” tears had run down her face, streaking the little make-up she was wearing.

“Betty, you know I will never forget molly, but there isn’t anything I or anyone else can do to bring her back. Not even in level seven land or anything, okay? I need to fall in love again, and I have.” He felt like he was going to start crying as well, although Betty didn’t say anything at his equally glossy eyes. Trying to distract himself he gently wiped the tears away from her face. 

“with me?”

“yes, silly. You are the one sitting right in front of me, the one I am desperately trying to convince that I am in love with them,” he smiled at her, something that was supposed to be reassuring, not the smile that made women pool at his feet. However, reassured wasn’t really what explained her response.

Betty grabbed a hold of his face, kissing him with the same amount of passion he had only seen in her work. She pulled his shirt to her chest, still locking lips with him, as she wouldn’t give up on his kiss, he froze for a moment, knowing where this was going to go, however unsure it was wise. Instead, he kissed her back, his hands reaching around to clutch at her waist, as Betty’s hands found his hair, tugging it harder than necessary. She was straddling his lap as he sat back against the couch, Betty tried to move his hands directing them more towards her hips, however he held back. He couldn’t answer all of life’s problems with sex, even if it was with the woman he loved.

He did however put his hand on her chest to halt her in her tracks, it did have the desired effect, although it may be more that Daniel hadn’t responded to her feverish kissing. This time he could tell she was frustrated, while it was obvious that he was frustrated. Any time he had struck out he had turned up to work the next day as if the world had fallen apart around him, however Daniel didn’t know much about Betty’s love life in that regard. She glared down at him from his lap.

“what is wrong now?” she asked, her own hands resting on his muscled chest. 

“I- I don’t think we should be avoiding our problems with sex,” he wasn’t surprised that Betty immediately started to laugh, her head moving down to rest on his chest. Her gentle laughing was slightly distraction, given Betty’s placement on his lap.

“excuse me, did Daniel Meade just say that?” she didn’t spare him the incredulity in her voice. 

“Betty, come on. You were really upset a moment ago, and suddenly you are all… riled up,” he knew that it may be hypocritical, however in most of his past relationships sex had been the only thing on his mind, so whatever issues he had would normally be remedied (or so he thought) with sex. Betty was different, he wanted to actually communicate with her before doing anything else.

“don’t you want to have sex with me?” she asked, smiling somewhat dejectedly. She even made to move off his lap, however Daniel held on even tighter to her hips, keeping her settled onto his lap.

“no, believe me, I want that. Can you not tell?” he raised an eyebrow, hoping she would get the hint. “but, you never told me why you forgave me,”

“I know, but you love me.”

“baby, I have told you that before.”

She blinked rather hurriedly, biting her lip, “I know, but I have always felt like I would be second best to molly,” she said shyly, her hair falling cascading down to his shoulders in beautiful shining waves.

“what? Why do you think that?” he never had known Betty to be so worried about exes, without the panic actually being rational. Charlie had gotten pregnant, matt was a massive dog, Walter cheated on her, but molly was gone. Nothing was going to change that.

“because, when my mom died, Papi said no one would ever replace her, and even though he got together with Elena it wasn’t like him and Mami,” she said, regret and fear tinged deep in her tone. He didn’t know what the regret was about.

“Betty, it is different,” he said, as sincerely as he believed it, looking up at the quirky, remarkable woman sitting on top of his lap. His hands still rested on her hips, however his touch wasn’t sexual it was more comforting, safe.

“how is it different? Molly was your first wife, she died of cancer where you knew about it.”

“Betty, I knew her for less than a year, I was married to her for much less time than that. It doesn’t compare, especially because I loved you, way before I even met her.”

“you did?” Daniel couldn’t believe that Betty didn’t think that, even after the whole Renee debacle they had both told each other that they did love each other. In that instance, he may have said it nonchalantly but he meant it.

“yeah… of course. I have only said I love you to handful of people, and most of them have been family… and a couple of poorly timed middle school crushes, but with you it is the real deal. When I say this, don’t think I am being over-dramatic: I really don’t think I can live without you,”   
Betty eyes softened, as she leant down, he thought she was going to kiss her, however she paused in front of his face. Leaning slightly onto his arms she reached around behind her, to… unhook her bra. Daniel, at this point was grinning like an idiot on laughing gas as Betty tried, not very successfully to remove her bra out from one sleeve. 

Daniel had forgotten all about her insecurities and the mini arguments (he knew from personal experience that arguments could get a lot bigger with Betty) when she was trying to remove her bra and wriggling on top of him. She eventually grumbled slightly, properly sitting up and pouting.

“urgh, why can’t I do this right. Hilda said it worked every time, it is a very sexy move apparently.” She threw her arms down at her side frowning. Daniel felt bubbles of laughter blooming in his chest, especially since Betty was acting as if she didn’t make his heart beat faster than it did after any exercise he had ever done, while looking so damn sexy.

“you know what else is a sexy move? Taking off your shirt,” he ran his hands up the sides of her body, gently caressing the skin there, especially at some of her more obvious curves. Betty followed suit, stripping off her shirt as she leant down to kiss Daniel again, her hands guiding his to caress her again.

“are we really going to do this?” she asked, her smile overjoyed. He kissed again in thanks, her face flushed and her lips swollen from the kiss. 

“only if you want to?” he didn’t want to be suggestive, instead he kissed her again. That was a suggestion enough for both of them, since before long Betty had taken care of his clothes as well as her own.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the drama really starts, but no fear, detty will prevail.  
> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty

So, it may have been a bit weird that he was staring intensely at Betty, while she was preening in the mirror after having her braces removed, however he had wanted to kiss her ever since she first got them off, and hadn’t had the chance. Even though Daniel had broken up with Amanda quite a while ago he had gotten mad at her for becoming more ‘friendly’ with Tyler. He even said, which he was regretting, that he was surprised that Amanda hadn’t slept with Alexis- when she was still Alex.  
  
“Betty, am I going to be able to talk to you- or have I been replaced by a mirror?” Daniel asked sulkily, he knew he shouldn’t tease Betty about something like that simply because one of biggest fears involved becoming a MODE girl, however he couldn’t seem to get out of the spiteful state of mind that came with Tyler’s arrival.  
  
She looked up at him with a lot of hurt in her eyes, probably not the best way to beg for a kiss, he definitely felt even worse when he saw the glitter of tears in her eyes. “I, no you are still important to me,” she said, gulping back more tears. He felt dreadful, he knew she had had a very stressful day, especially with getting hit on the head.  
  
“Betty, I’m sorry,” he said, sitting onto the canvas stool and putting his head in his hands. Betty did the incredibly Betty thing to do and apologised for him.  
  
“it is okay, Daniel. I know you are under a lot of pressure at the moment, especially with Tyler showing up.” She leant slightly into his side, smiling up at him with her new clean smile. He tried to forget the worries, just focus on Betty who was still tucked into the crook of his shoulder, how she could make everything feel alright even when it was his fault.  
  
“I do love you, and thank you for being so supportive. It is just, he waltzes in here like he is the best in the world. He is a hick, not a model, or… French! And then he starts on Amanda, he wants to date her… imagine saying to my niece or nephew that I slept with their mother.”  
  
She had been laughing weakly throughout the whole tirade, however when he started to talk about Amanda she started to frown at the mirror. “Daniel, as much as I really hope that you realise you shouldn’t be talking about that with any relatives, I don’t see how this matters,”  
  
“it matters because that… idiot was disrespecting me, he is my mom’s favourite, he went to see my nephew and my sister, and he is sleeping with my-,” he paused, seeing Betty right in front of him, the look of upset on her face being mingled with anger.  
  
Daniel knew she understood the thing about his mom, he was always a momma’s boy, and about DJ, which had always been a touchy subject- but she didn’t understand Amanda. Last time she knew Amanda was the one that was obsessed with Daniel, even though that was years previously, while she had never considered Daniel to even have feelings for Amanda. That was all true, but she seemed to be taking it a little too personally “Daniel, do you have-,”  
  
“no, and don’t even think it. I am so happy that we are together, but it is just like he is trying to take over my life, even if it is my old one. I felt replaced, but I know that if he ever tries anything on you, I don’t care if he is my brother-,”  
  
“alright, alright- calm down Romeo!” she said, even though she was smiling into the mirror, her warm eyes focused on him. “I don’t think you need to do that, and stop thinking of people as possessions, Daniel, but I think I don’t count.” She said the latter part in the tiniest of whispers.  
“why don’t you count?” he asked, standing up and moving to stand beside Betty.  
  
“because we belong to each other,” she said with her megawatt smile.  
  
“hmm, yeah! So, sorry for being so grumpy, why don’t we go out to get something to eat?” he suggested, gently brushing her hair aside so he could kiss her shoulder.  
  
“my family is organising a dinner for me with all of my favourite foods,” Betty looked rather guilty, knowing Daniel was trying hard to get over his jealousy issues. “maybe you could come, you know they adore you!” her dad didn’t mind that they were dating, especially since he seemed less surprised about it than they did at the beginning.  
  
“even if I have been grumpy with their Betty?” he asked, his hands finding their way to her front, and entangling onto hers.  
  
“I don’t think we have to tell them that, as long as you cheer up!” she turned around to lightly peck him on the lips, they were so entrapped in their love bubble neither of them noticed Amanda walking over.  
  
“hey, marc they are kissing again!” she yelled off into the room, instead of announcing her presence in the more common manner of talking directly to the people she wanted the attention of. Betty and Daniel broke apart, smiling as they both turned around to see who was yelling.  
  
“hey Amanda,” Betty smiled, blushing.  
  
“yeah, I need to talk to you,” she wound a strand of hair around her finger, looking coy. Betty’s stomach was practically doing back flips in fear, why did Amanda want to talk to Daniel, especially since he had just been talking about how much he hated his brother for taking everything away from him. Betty watched, a frown on her face as Amanda trotted off, Daniel following behind her. They walked until they were out of sight, and a spiteful part of Betty wondered if she should just walk home, and leave Daniel to fall in love with Amanda all over again.  
  
When they were out of earshot of everyone, it seemed Amanda launched into conversation. Daniel was slightly worried since Betty’s happy look had instantly changed the minute she had seen Amanda walking up to them. However, Amanda seemed not to notice his frequent glances back to Betty, instead wringing her hands and not slowing down her rambling.  
  
“so, Daniel- Daniel!” Amanda waved her hand in front of his face as if she was signalling to someone.  
  
“hmm, yeah?”  
  
“pay attention,” she sighed, rolling her eyes in a way Daniel had seen so many times before.  
  
“okay, sorry,” he grunted slightly, the general telling of how he was actually listening.  
  
“anyway, are you fine with me going out with Tyler?” she asked, Daniel was a little surprised that she was asking her that, especially since she hadn’t had this much regard for… anyone… ever. He was grateful, he was fine with it. Tyler and Amanda seemed to really like each other, especially since they were going slow, he had to hear all about it from his mom.  
  
“yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” he asked, trying to act casually, although it was obvious that he wasn’t the most comfortable in this situation.  
  
“because he is your brother, and I am your ex-lover- oh, that rhymes! Anyway, I just wondered, because it is a little weird.”  
  
Amanda cut him off, a devious grin on her face “retired, don’t you and Betty do the nasty?”  
  
“Amanda, how many times! I am not discussing my sex life, especially concerning Betty with you. I shouldn’t worry about it, as long as you are happy, I know I am.” Her eyes softened, the usual light that derived from her constant trickery was dimmed, instead replaced by one he often saw in Betty’s: happiness.  
  
“I am, I really like Tyler.”  
  
“good, can I get back to Betty now?” he asked, smiling slightly, she nodded, walking away before he could. He knew that it would be slightly weird to have Amanda as his sister-in-law, but looking back on it, it was so much better than her being his half-sister. He shuddered at the thought. However, when he got back to Betty’s chair she was slumped in it, not making eye contact with anyone.  
  
“hey, Betty, what is going on?”  
  
“erm, maybe it isn’t such a good idea if you came tonight?” she suggested, not even trying to look up at him again.  
  
“where did this come from? Does your family not want me there?” he asked, looking ever so slightly concerned.  
  
“no, I don’t want you there, Daniel!” she said, storming out of his way, and through the open door of the shoot. Daniel wondered where he had gone wrong, especially since he hadn’t done anything in particular to annoy her, he had just apologised to her! His confusion didn’t make him miss a beat, as he still ran out after Betty, although she was storming down the now dark street.  
  
“Betty, wait!” she started to walk faster and faster, forgetting he had much longer legs and wouldn’t even have to run to catch up to her.  
  
“what is it?” she made no attempt to stop, instead kept on walking even when Daniel nearly stumbled  
  
“Betty! Slow down, okay? Why are you so mad at me?” he tried to follow her however whenever he tried to stop her she just walked straight past him.  
  
“I don’t know Daniel!” she threw her hands up in the air, storming past him again. She was obviously being sarcastic; however, Daniel didn’t appreciate the sarcasm over nothing at all. Betty just kept on walking, trying to lose Daniel, but it didn’t work. She soon found herself getting out of breath, and stopped at the corner of the road, unable to do anything with Daniel right behind her, not the slightest bit out of breath. “how are you not out of breath?” she asked, pouting in the most adorable fashion.  
  
“well, I think I have an idea. Now, get in a cab because I don’t want you to have a heart attack,” he pulled over a cab, moving Betty to his side as he bundled her in the car, she was still looking angry, however didn’t fight him on it.  
  
“I am not going to have a heart attack. I didn’t run because I am in heels.”  
  
“is this why you are mad at me. Or is it because Amanda wanted to speak to me?” with Betty it was sometimes hard to tell, since as much as she was an emotionally driven person, very much letting her heart do most of the speaking- something which made her such an amazing person, she was also logical, so she didn’t freak out over little things. He knew that him talking with Amanda may seem a little bit suspicious, however when they were discussing his brother dating her it wasn’t so much.  
  
She shrugged “it isn’t that at all Daniel- why, what did she say to you?” she narrowed her eyes. Daniel felt like rolling his, you don’t get called the most notorious bachelor in the city without learning more about women than the average married man. Of course, Betty wanted to know, if henry showed up and asked to speak with her privately he would have a film crew follow her, simply because he didn’t trust the little accountant weasel.  
  
“she asked if it was too weird for her to date Tyler, and then tried to ask questions about our sex life,”  
  
“ew!” Betty said, although he could see a little grin creeping onto her face.  
  
“yeah, but I don’t think that is really the problem. You have been so dramatic today,” he couldn’t think of another word to describe Betty’s constant mood swings, and the yelling, and the sudden jumping of him. She pulled him into the photo copy room the other day, which, thankfully he had a new door put in- one without any windows.  
  
“I haven’t been dramatic!” she practically growled, moving further away from him across the seat of the cab. He could see the cab driver glance at them nervously, afraid of an argument breaking out.  
  
“sorry, it is fine about the Amanda thing. I get that, but the mood swings,” he had hinted at them plenty of times, however he hadn’t said anything since he didn’t want to offend Betty further.  
  
“I am not having mood swings,” he was distracted, looking between Betty’s disapproving glances and the cab driver’s ones of understanding.  
“you jumped me earlier today, and then told me you didn’t want to see me again.” he whispered, not wanting to embarrass Betty in front of the cab driver, or anyone else in public.  
  
“well, you were annoying me.” she said, her voice even lower than his, however in this case it wasn’t really a good thing. He looked between her, the tension in the air feeling like a loaded gun as he pondered over her answer. “I will tell you when we get inside. I am so sorry Daniel,” she snuggled up closer to him, resting her head on his chest.  
  
“you don’t need to say sorry, you have done nothing wrong,”  
  
“I got mad at you over nothing.” She said sheepishly.  
  
“so, has all the women I loved the most, especially Alexis… even when she was a dude, she was- anyway,” he shook his head slightly “you have nothing to feel sorry about, just tone down the storming off, I don’t want you to get hurt.”  
  


“okay,” she moved closer until she was practically sitting on his lap. Despite Betty’s foul mood she was still his loving, sweet Betty who was even more incorrigible than he was. His Betty as beautiful, and smart, and despite the lack of sleep she had experienced from them keeping each other up all night she was still radiant.

  
They got into her house, Daniel preparing himself for whatever Betty had to say, worst came to worst he was expecting her to break up with him. He knew Betty had been fine for weeks since their first proper argument, even though that was more of a freeze out- attempted freeze out.   
In the last week things, had changed a bit, he knew Betty was under a bit of pressure at work, especially with Amanda moving on, and with Hilda’s wedding. He was feeling stressed because of the amount of change that was going on, he had just lost Amanda as his assistant, while Betty was supposed to be planning a bachelorette party for Hilda. Suddenly Betty was yelling at him for nothing at all, but he didn’t get mad at her, he was just worried.  
  
When they got into the warm, welcoming atmosphere of the house he pulled Betty aside, pulling off her coat for her as she rested her head against his chest, but before he got to talk to her Hilda swooped in and carried off her sister like a bird of prey, with painted nails and skinny jeans on.  
  
“Betty- oh,” Ignacio came up and patted him on the shoulder, guiding him into the kitchen.  
  
“you’re fighting a losing battle, Mijo, don’t worry about it though, come and help me make my famous mole.” He smiled at Daniel, who knew that Mr. Suarez must trust him if Daniel was allowed anywhere near his sacred kitchen.  
  
“what was Hilda talking to Betty about?” he led Daniel through the room, looking at the table which was loaded with all the foods Betty had been forbidden, including candy apples and corn on the cob. Foods, he knew she loved.  
  
“something about her bachelorette party, I don’t know, I am trying not to get involved, I am too old for this,” he stirred the sauce on his stove. Daniel felt slightly uncomfortable, he had known Ignacio for a long time, the man had guided him through some of the darkest times, Daniel still felt bad about being so preoccupied when Ignacio was going through his own health scare, something he hadn’t forgiven himself for. Soon enough the delicious aromas were wafting throughout the house as Ignacio started to load up their dinner.  Betty and Hilda eventually came down from upstairs, as the smells even drew Justin from wherever he was with his new friend.  
  
Luckily, when Betty came down she was relatively more subdued and not so eager to punch him, she sidled into her seat next to him at the table as Ignacio sat down with the food, Daniel had helped slightly, he had done the chopping since Ignacio made the wise decision not to let Daniel near the stove. As much as Daniel was worried about Betty, he didn’t want to tell her father that, especially when Betty herself hadn’t told him the whole story.  
  
“wow Papi, this is delicious,” Betty smacked her lips together as she took her first bite, leaning into Daniel slightly.  
  
“don’t give all the credit to me, Daniel helped too,” Betty looked over at Daniel in shock, wondering just how much of the cooking he had done, although they could both agree that he could cook marginally better than she could, facts you only needed to know both of them for about a week to learn.  
  
“I chopped food, and set the table,”  
  
“ah, now it makes sense,” Hilda interjected smiling at Betty, who flicked some of her food over the table at her sister, then possessively put her hand on Daniel’s arm.  
  
“Daniel can cook, Hilda.”  
  
“I am sure he can AB, but why did you look like you were considering dialling 911 when he said it?” Justin laughed, picking at his own food.  
Betty pretended to be indignant, but Daniel could tell she was trying not to smile. “I was just surprised Papi let him into the kitchen, let alone cook in there,”  
  
“I only chopped stuff, your dad did all of the proper cooking!” Daniel gently kissed her on the lips, kissing away the mole on his lips.  
  
“yeah, we can tell that you can’t cook when you call it proper cooking,” Hilda sassily remarked, which earned her a breadstick to the face. Daniel watched Betty and Hilda, and although while Betty may want to kill him at this moment there was nowhere else he would rather be.  
  
The Suarez’s may not be the richest, or the most popular, but they were the type of family that could make you feel happy and wanted just by smiling at you. This was the type of family his mother dreamed about, one where they could all sit at the table, and while there may be the occasional food fight, no one was drunk, or threatening to kill other members of the family, or actually doing so.  
  
When dinner was all finished and Justin was made to clear it away since Hilda was going to meet bobby, or as she has been calling him for the last week, her ‘FIANCÉE’. She hadn’t actually said his name for about a week. Betty snuggled up to Daniel still sitting in her chair as his arm was still around her, ignoring the protests of disgust from Justin.  
  
“Daniel, do you want to go upstairs?” she asked, kissing his cheek. Daniel blushed slightly, having not being kissed by Betty all day, and not in front of her family for a while, especially because Justin protested by making puke sounds every time they did that.  
  
“sure thing, we need to discuss that thing from earlier, don’t we?” he asked, his fingers moving to the ticklish spots on her neck. Betty giggled with delight, pressing another stronger kiss into his cheek.  
  
“where are you two going?” Ignacio came back into the dining room, holding his dish towel in his hands as he had just finished washing up, while Justin stormed out of the kitchen, rolling his eyes.  
  
“grandpa, why did you make me wash up, I bet Daniel could do it, I just got my nails done,” he splayed his fingers, in a rough approximation of jazz hands. Daniel looked down at his own fingers, knowing what it would appear like if Betty went and told her dad that Daniel had got a manicure yesterday, and that she had to book it for him.  
  
“because, Justin, Daniel is a guest, we don’t make guests do the washing up unless they volunteer. Now what was this business about you two going upstairs?” Ignacio asked, still wiping one of the pans he was holding, although from Daniel’s point of view he might as well have been cleaning a gun, with the way Ignacio was looking at Daniel.  
  
“I need to tell Daniel something, Papi! Geez, I am twenty-six, not sixteen.” She pulled Daniel along by his hand, running up the steps as fast as she could with Daniel following her.  
  
“keep the door open!” he yelled from the bottom of the stairs, however Betty still slammed it shut.  
  
“Betty, I am not really comfortable doing anything like that with your whole family in the house,” he said, nevertheless sat on her bed next to her.  
  
“Daniel, I wanted to tell you what is wrong, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I was really mean earlier.” She sighed, putting her head on his shoulder, nuzzling into his neck.  
  
“okay, what is wrong then?” barely touching her he slid his hands across her legs pulling her onto his lap. He could feel Betty shivering under his touch, almost quivering at his touch.  
  
“well, I have been really worried about something.” She said, tilting her head to kiss him again, but she hadn’t included words in it yet.  
  
“does it involve words?” he gently coaxed, although Betty didn’t look as if she was going to talk to him, she was too busy looking around the room to actually look at him either.  
  
“why don’t we watch some TV?” she suggested, reaching for the remote which lay just out of her reach on the bedside table. He grabbed it for her, the tension between them building, mostly because of his worry. He didn’t know exactly what was going on, and his worries ranged from her breaking up with him, to being sick. He was terrified that she would be sick like molly, he barely coped with losing molly, but if he lost Betty he doubted he would survive without her.  
  
“Betty, you need to tell me sweetie, I am getting really worried,” he kept snuggling up to her as she crawled under the covers, bringing the comforter up to her chin.  
  
“Daniel, please don’t rush me, because then I don’t want to tell you,” she scolded, but peeled back the corner of the comforter, to know Daniel was welcomed inside. He kicked off his shoes and suit jacket, getting under the covers with her as she snuggled further up to him.  
  
“Betty, are you trying to do some not so accidental touching?” he asked, when Betty’s hand may have slipped during their hug.  
  
“no, my whole family is here, unless… you want to? It kind of makes it more exciting,” she blushed at even saying that.  
  
“what does? Sneaking around? Does it make you hot baby?” he asked, pressing even closer to her as he gently kissed Betty on the nose,  
“because I don’t mind… I mean- oh crap!” he was in the process of picking his jacket up and searching the pockets.  
  
“what’s wrong,”  
  
“I didn’t expect this, especially because you were mad at me yesterday, so I am not exactly equipped.” He raised his eyebrows trying to get Betty on board with his innuendo.  
  
“oh, maybe not then,” she shrugged, flipping through the channels on her television. Daniel had learnt, through his relationship with Betty that she was nearly as incorrigible as he was.  
  
“well, we could chance it, I mean there are things we could try,”  
  
She looked at him as if he was insane. “Daniel, no. I’m not comfortable risking _anything_ happening,” she ghosted her hands over her stomach while Daniel bit his lip. It was no secret that he wanted children, while Betty said one day… a long time in the future she did- but not yet. It was easy for her to say, she was 25 and her biological clock wasn’t ready to self-destruct.  
  
“okay, I was just saying,” his voice was quieter, distracted by her snapping at him, there was part of Daniel which wondered if the whole baby thing was partly why she had been so angry at him recently. Maybe something had happened, and she wasn’t coping very well with it. He couldn’t blame her if she was worried, there were many insecure parts of Daniel that thought Betty would be better off with someone who wasn’t so much older than her, maybe someone with the same drive and ambition as she displayed on such a regular basis.  
  
He knew she wasn’t ready for a family yet, her dream was still to run her own magazine company, she wanted to be like his mother, Claire had once confided in him. But, he thought that if something would ever happen, you know… by accident she would be happy about it, and not want to run away from the situation. Or inch away from him on the bed and freeze out. “Daniel, I don’t want to do this right now,” she said, stalking out of her bed even though neither of them had said anything for a matter of moments. Without thinking, Daniel followed her, he may have had his suspicions, however he also knew that neither he nor Betty were the best communicators when they were upset about something.  
  
“wait, Betty, let me into this bathroom!” he slammed on the door, with one of his hands, probably harder than necessary, which only served to attract the intrigue from Ignacio.  
  
“Daniel, why are you punching my door? Are you okay?” he asked, coming up the stairs to meet Daniel on the landing.  
  
“I’m fine, it is Betty. She went all weird on me over something,” he said, clearing his throat, because he didn’t feel like discussing with his girlfriend’s father how much he wanted to get her pregnant.  
  
Ignacio asked the question Daniel knew would be inevitable. “what were you talking about?”  
  
“she was mad at me for something or other at work today, and yesterday and the day before,” he said quietly, biting his lip as he didn’t want to criticise the man’s daughter.  
  
“you see it too, I was just wondering if it was about the braces, since one of the playwrights that spoke at Justin’s class gave her his orthodontists number,”  
  
A perfectly rational spike of jealousy reared inside of him. “she didn’t tell me about him,” Daniel growled. Ignacio raised his eyebrows at him, patting Daniel on the back.  
  
“Daniel, Mijo, don’t worry, and don’t break down the door, it doesn’t lock anyway. Now I suggest you don’t do it head on, because you know Betty,” he said, descending the stairs again, leaving Daniel still standing outside the bathroom door. He rapped on the wood again, not wanting to spook Betty, but wanting to get to the bottom of this, especially about the mysterious playwright. He knew that people didn’t just walk up to someone and give them the details about their orthodontist straight off the bat, there had to be something else there.  
  
“Betty, open the door, it doesn’t lock,” he hit the door again, although it was softer this time.  
  
“It isn’t Betty in here, it is Hilda!” she tried to mimic her sister’s voice, but that backfired even worse than her terrible impression, since Hilda burst out of her room, only dressed in a skimpy robe. Daniel hastily covered his eyes, not wanting to annoy bobby by gawking at his fiancée, even if she was right there!  
  
“is that what you think I sound like?” Hilda asked, she too started to bang on the door. Daniel moved backwards, trying to ignore that Hilda’s robe had flung partially open. He heard bobby let out a loud sigh from inside the room.  
  
“Hilda, she obviously doesn’t, just get back in here?” he commanded, although it sounded more like he was pleading. Hilda simply ignored him, not even dignifying giving bobby her ‘one minute’ hand signal.  
  
“oh, I’m Betty, I sound like a chipmunk!” Hilda started to tease Betty, in a very high soprano, that actually sounded quite similar to Betty’s voice when she was mad at him, Daniel just knew Betty was going to be mad at that. She did come out of the bathroom at that, pouting at her sister as Hilda continued the mean (-ly accurate) impression of Betty, as Betty started doing one of her own. Bobby had come out of Hilda’s room at this point, holding a bedsheet around his midriff as he nodded at Daniel over the head of the fighting sisters, as they only increased in volume.  
Eventually Ignacio stormed up the stairs, stopping short when he saw the scantily clad Hilda fighting with Betty in the middle of the landing. He quickly turned around, however did interject.  
  
“girls, stop fighting!” he yelled from where he was standing, facing the hallway door instead of his fighting daughters. “what is this about?” another eruption of noise at his question, until Daniel put his hand on Betty’s shoulder and dragged her back into his side.  
  
“Hilda was mimicking me, Papi!” Betty said, sulkily, leaning over the banister.  
  
“nuh uh! Papi, she was mimicking me first, tell her off-,”  
  
Ignacio turned around briefly, only to cover his eyes again when he saw Hilda “let’s not fight about who started it, both of you stop fighting, otherwise Daniel and bobby will have to go home.” He opened his eyes again, only to walk down the stairs, not turning back as he said something again “and Hilda, put some clothes on,” he walked back into the rooms downstairs, probably ignoring Hilda’s next comment.  
  
“you can’t tell me what to do, I’m a grown woman!” she called down the stairs, but she was dragged back into the room by bobby, no doubt eager to finish what they started. Daniel hadn’t even turned around before Betty had run back into the bathroom, only this time he held the door open so he could get into the bathroom before Betty managed to slam it.  
  
“right, you- why are you hiding in the bathroom?” he asked, his arm winding around her as she tried to escape from his hug.  
  
“I am not hiding, I need a pee,” she said brazenly, sitting down on top of the closed toilet lid. Daniel bashfully looked around the room, only to have Betty say something to capture his attention again, but out of the corner of his eye he saw something much more interesting.  “but, I do need to tell you something,”  
  
“right,” he turned around again, careful to face the side of the room, with the object of his intrigue in his eyeline. “well, you can tell me when the three minutes are up, oh, and bring the stick,” he whirred around, kissing her lightly on the cheek, before walking back to her bedroom. He felt as if he was on top of the world, it may not be what Betty wanted, and he was a little disappointed in himself for being so happy about something that wasn’t in their shared interest. But he had wanted this for so long, all he could think about was how happy he would be when Betty finally came out of the bathroom.  
  
He stretched out on the bed, switching the television back on and covering himself with her blankets. He could feel the excitement bubbling under his skin, there was the possibility of him being a father, unless it was matt’s- he also didn’t know what had happened with the playwright either. He didn’t want to think of that, about Betty because he knew her, he trusted her with a lot more than Daniel trusted anyone else with.  
Three minutes isn’t a long time, unless you are a frantic playboy waiting to know if the love of his life was pregnant with the child he wanted ever since his other one turned out to be his sisters, from when she was his brother. That is partly why he had turned on the television, to try and distract himself from waiting, although 3 minutes might have well been three hours, with the amount of panicking he was doing.  
  
Betty eventually sidled into her room, looking as if she was literally walking on eggshells, he didn’t know what to make of that. He had been informed that when she thought she was pregnant with matt’s child she had majorly freaked out, but this was different, he was less likely to run away if it happened, actually he could say there was no chance of him running away. Betty had slightly different views.  
  
“so?” he sat up on the bed, pausing the television the minute she cautiously stepped into her room.  
  
“well, you are going to be happy,” she threw the stick his way so it landed on the bed in front of him, it was positive. He was going to be a dad. Daniel felt like jumping in the air, or on Betty’s bed, smiling until his face split into two. He couldn’t be happier, well he could, if Betty would actually smile and look less like her world had fallen apart. He was trying to be sympathetic and understand that it was a big change for her, even come to the terms that she didn’t want this, but it wouldn’t beak his heart any less.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

“are you happy?” he asked her, as she sat on the bed, with one leg folded underneath her, with tears brimming in her eyes. She didn’t have the mechanism for when he was trying to avoid the truth, she didn’t have the smile and the thumbs up. But he also knew she wouldn’t use it, it was appropriate for not wanting to hurt people’s feelings over a story, or preferences over domination in the bedroom, but not when it was the life of a child.  
  
“I don’t know Daniel, this-,” she held her hand over her still flat stomach “is a big change, it wasn’t even factored into my five-year-plan. I didn’t want kids yet, and I didn’t freak out because it was matt, I freaked out because,” he bit his lip as she froze, knowing what she was going to say to him. Daniel had told her about the matt thing when they were having one of their discussions, well, he told her he knew about it because Hilda had told him first.   
  
“because you don’t want a child, I understand, Betty.” He said, looking down at the small white stick in his hands. This could be the thing that changed his life forever, he just hoped the reason why she didn’t want it because she might not know who was the father. He could cope with that, just not her saying she didn’t want it at all. “is there any chance that it isn’t mine?” he asked, awaiting the answer.   
  
“I don’t think so, it has been a while since I was with matt… and all the websites have said I would be showing if I were that far along,”  
  
“I didn’t even know you had any symptoms,” he would have noticed if she was unwell, or had all of the aches and pains associated with pregnancy. It did explain the mood swings though.   
  
“just missing my time,” she waited for a moment for Daniel to catch her meaning. “anyway, I have also been really worried about that, so it has been making me moody, apparently, I might be really early because the missing event was what alerted me in the first place,” Daniel was just thinking about how panicky she could be one minute, and then go on as if she wanted this, as if she wasn’t acting like having this baby would ruin her life. Daniel looked at the beauty and the beast sheets on Betty’s bed, as he slowly got out from under the covers. He didn’t see the connection between this smart confident woman before him, and the naïve little girl who slammed into that glass door all those years before.   
  
“right, what was that other thing you were going to tell me?” he asked, knowing she had something else to say, before he had left her to do the test in the bathroom. In some weird way, he was more worried about this than the pregnancy thing, especially if it had something to do with the playwright he had been hearing about.  
  
“erm, well… first of all, it wasn’t my fault, he kissed me,” Daniel stammered when she said that, he just hoped to god it wasn’t henry, since every time that slimy weasel came near Betty something went wrong. But he was also thinking that it could possibly be that annoying playwright, he hated the guy before he had even met him. He didn’t want to meet him.  
  
“who?” he decided he wouldn’t freak out, instead just sit back on the bed not wanting to freak out at her, even if it was a big deal.  
  
“well, I went to pick up Justin from his acting class, and there was a playwright, I wanted to do a human-interest story on him, you know the thing about the theatre-,” Betty said, her hands wringing in front of her. Despite how Daniel felt so incredulous, she had begged him to take the story, saying how it would prove Wilhelmina wrong and all these other enticing things, just so she could see this guy?! He was beyond mad at her, but he wasn’t going to show it, it wasn’t good for the baby or Betty.  
  
“you asked me if you could do that, Betty why?” he was disappointed, and this he could show. He just had to look away from Betty’s face so he wouldn’t see her cry, because he might too.  
  
“I didn’t realise he was going to do that, I wanted to interview him, since he used to have braces and glasses, and he followed his dreams, becoming this big playwright, I thought if he could do it so could I, and now-,” she stopped short again as Daniel felt something inside him break. She was blaming him, so much she couldn’t even finish her sentence. But she didn’t need to, their bond had broken, the one where they could just turn up and expect to know exactly what the other one was thinking.   
  
“now you’re pregnant,” he didn’t say the thing they both knew she was going to say it meant. She was going to say it meant her life would be over, Daniel knew that wasn’t true, his mom’s life had truly begun to kick off when she had him and Alex- for Betty it would only be the beginning, unless she made it the end.   
  
“I don’t mean it like that, I just mean- I will have to stay home with the baby, and do all the looking after of it, when I could be making my dreams come true.” Betty said, looking down at her lap. He was surprised because Betty had always thought people who only chose one of those things mustn’t be very happy overall. She had always insisted that she could do both, and would when the time came.  
  
“you do realise that I do exist in this relationship too, Betty! And you can do both,” he tried to rile her up, back into her positive way of thinking, but she just looked at him sadly, blinking back the tears.  
  
“I can’t, I want kids, but not now. I want them when my job is more stable, and I can go on maternity without losing the progress I have worked so hard for.” She let her hands slip from over her stomach, he knew that Betty was anxious about it, but he was feeling sorry for the baby at that point in time. Betty really didn’t want it.  
  
“but, you have got one now- we will go to the doctors to double check, but you have got a kid Betty.” His hand hovered above her shoulder blades, as if he was going to rub her back, but he didn’t want to touch her right now.   
  
“yeah, but don’t get your hopes up. I am still very early on, there is a chance of miscarriage in the first semester,”  
  
“I can’t believe you just said that, Betty, what the hell?” she looked panicked, while Daniel felt even worse. Betty had even considered that happening, and she didn’t look heartbroken. Most people don’t even consider that, because it is the worst possible thing to happen. He knew that Betty was hopped up on hormones, but it didn’t make what she said okay. Looking back through this conversation, he had more than enough of a reason to run out of the room.   
  
She had kissed another guy, hiding it in a story, one that she had begged him for. Then she got pregnant, told him outright that it would ruin her life, and even suggest one of the most upsetting things as a way to escape. Actually, the more he thought about it he couldn’t think of a reason why he wants to stay at the moment.   
  
“I didn’t mean it like that, Daniel, I just meant… nothing is set in stone,” she said, looking worried at his hurt expression. “I get that you want the baby, but you don’t have to leave- Daniel, please?” she asked, as he backed away from the bed, holding his shoes in his hands and throwing his suit jacket back over his shoulders.   
  
“Betty, I just need some time, I am happy about the baby, but about everything else… I’m not, I do love you though,” he walked out of the room, gently shutting the door behind him, he knew that Betty would want to tell her family in her own time, he didn’t need to blurt it out at her family. He hoped Betty would always support her, and the baby. He already loved this baby so much, knowing he would do anything for it, he would even raise it as a single dad if Betty didn’t want to be involved at all. But he couldn’t imagine her doing that to her own child, she was so loving and caring with the rest of her family, instead it just seemed impossible that she would act so… cold towards her own child.   
  


He got into the waiting town car, which he directed back to his mother’s house, instead of molly’s old apartment, he didn’t want to be alone right now, and wanted to know what his mom had to say about the matter.

  
She sat on her bed, resisting the temptation to throw up. Daniel had walked out of the room and left her. Okay, maybe she was being a bit overdramatic, that is what he had literally done, but he told her that he was happy about the baby, and that he loved her. She really didn’t have anything to complain about, especially when she was the one who had said all those hurtful things. She thought back to her comment about how fragile life was, well, she had meant to say that- but she knew how it came out.   
  
It sounded like she was saying, it could all be gone in a second, so don’t bother being happy since I don’t want it anyway. She could already feel the tears burning the inside of her eyelids as she closed her eyes, trying not to cry. She hated _herself_ for being so horrible. She placed her hands on her stomach, knowing it was too early but she could imagine the fluttering of her baby, she knew she would love them so much even before they were born.   
  
She just hoped that Daniel would still want to be in her life after all the things she said, she just hoped her baby would stick around after all of the things she said. She knew that having a child was one of the most precious things in the world, but she always (naïvely) thought that it would come when both the parents were ready, and settled in their careers, unless they were both responsible, and weren’t man whores or had drunken sex in the back of a car on prom night. But accidents happen, even when you are careful. She felt even worse thinking of the baby as an accident, because it was a real human, and while Justin’s timing wasn’t the best Hilda loved him so much, Hilda had told her all about it, she didn't know why.   
  
She threw herself back onto her covers, sobbing what she thought was quietly into the pillow, but it turns out it must have been pretty loud if Hilda came into the room, sticking her head around the door. She saw her sister lying face down on the pillow, deciding to help her little sister, who was so obviously upset. Hilda sat next to her on the bed, patting Betty’s shoulder as she tried to comfort her sister. Hilda was the one who gave her the pregnancy test, having a hunch based on her sister’s behaviour. She nodded at Hilda as she came in, the best she could from her position on the pillow.  
  
“oh, are you,”   
  
“uh, huh,” she said her voice quiet with tears.  
  
“did you tell him?” she asked, as she turned towards Hilda, showing her the streaked make-up that had run down her face and onto the pillow with her hysterics. She could blame it on Daniel, saying it was because he walked out on her and her child when the sad fact was that she was the one who felt like walking out of this whole situation. He had been the supportive one right from the beginning about the news of the baby.  
  
“yes,”  
  
“did he leave you?” Hilda asked, looking outraged, and twitching her robe further around her. she could tell Hilda was getting ready to fight Daniel, even if it meant storming out of the house right that moment. But she couldn’t pin any of the blame on Daniel, he didn’t even yell- all he did was say he needed a bit of extra time. She was surprised he wasn’t mad at her, she had kissed another guy, and then told him that she didn’t want their baby. Even thinking that was enough to put her hands on her stomach protectively, as if she could protect her baby from the words she had said herself.  
  
“no, well… yes, but not for the reason you think,”  
  
“did he go out to get champagne, because I could really do with some,” she would have normally pouted at anyone for saying something like that, but she couldn’t even smile since she was just too miserable.  
  
“no, he left, left! But, it was my fault,”  
  
Hilda looked at her, confusion written on her features “why is it your fault, it takes two to make a baby,” she made a very obscene gesture that she ignored.  
  
“it wasn’t because of that, it was because I don’t want it,” she didn’t want to talk about this topic with Hilda, especially since Hilda had gone through her own recent tragedy.   
  
“you don’t?” her sister seemed hurt, but her expression was sympathetic.  
  
“it isn’t like that Hilda, I am going to love this baby, but that is not what I told Daniel,” she looked up at Hilda, knowing that she wasn’t going to repeat what she had insinuated.   
  
“oh, Betty. Did you tell him about the playwright guy?” Hilda asked, knowing all about the ambush kiss. she met him at a bar, somewhere she could afford, because it wasn’t like she was going to take a famous playwright to her local deli, they had been talking about his childhood, the braces, the glasses, his weird name, then- bam! He had kissed her, which was a very short kiss, since she had promptly slapped him in the face afterwards.  
  


“yeah, but I said something that I shouldn’t have, it really upset him so he said he needed some time to himself,” Hilda leant over, gently hugging her as she collapsed back onto the pillows. She wasn’t going to tell Hilda what she said because she regretted it now, she couldn’t believe she had even thought that. Betty was just silently hoping that Daniel would feel the same, and not tell anyone.

  
Daniel got home to his mother’s house, which was actually her new apartment in the city. They had sold the mansion, a while ago, after his father’s death. It wasn’t even their childhood home, that was further upstate, just slightly out of New York, but his mother didn’t want to be in that big lonely house when all her children were off galivanting off around the world.   
  
His mother’s bellman knew him well by now, since most of the time after molly’s death was spent in-between his mother’s house and Betty’s house. He wasn’t able to go into her apartment until after the funeral. They let him in immediately, as he met his mother at her door as she hugged him quickly.  
  
“to what do I owe this pleasure, I cannot tell if you are still mad at me?” she raised his eyebrows at him, as she released him from the hug.  
  
“no, mom, I need to talk to you,” thanks to Betty, who helped him come to terms with Tyler he was much more ready to forgive his mom, she had made him see his mother’s side of the story, to imagine giving up her child, then he thought back to what she had said earlier. He was trying not to cry now, which his mother obviously picked up on.  
  
“oh, darling, why don’t you come inside, do you want some chamomile tea?” she asked, leading him through her incredibly dainty living room to sit on the overstuffed couch. He didn’t want to be babied by his mother, no matter how much he felt like being babied. He knew that it wasn’t good to rely so heavily on other people, especially if he was going to be a parent from now on.  
  
“mom, no!”  
  
She raised her eyebrows, smiling at him knowingly “fine, my grown-up son, would you like a beer?” she asked him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. He could tell she was being slightly patronising, but he wasn’t going to turn down that opportunity.  
  
“yes, please,” he admitted, putting his head in his hands, but his mother just laughed.  
  
“Daniel, in case you have forgotten successful recovering alcoholics don’t keep alcohol in the house, so is it tea, or juice?” she asked, petting him on the head, only to have Daniel scowl at her. He wasn’t going to tell his mom all of what Betty said, he was blaming it on hormones and panic, so even if Betty didn’t feel differently in the morning, he wouldn’t tell his mother.   
  
“tea please, mom,” Daniel called across the room, reclining on the sofa as his mother returned with the teas she had in her hands.  
  
“right, what is wrong, because I didn’t even know you had forgiven me about the Tyler thing Daniel.” she looked at him with her look, the one only she could give which meant she probably already knew.   
  
“mom, Betty’s pregnant,” he finally admitted, only after a long sip of chamomile. He looked back over at his mother, who was smiling at him happily, however stopped when he seemed so sad.  
  
“are you not happy about it?”  
  
Daniel shook his head, that didn’t even cross his mind. What would her family think about him storming out on them? “no, mom I’m thrilled, but Betty isn’t, she doesn’t want it!” he blinked at his mom, not wanting to cry.  
  
“she doesn’t want the baby?”  
  
“she said she didn’t, she said it would make her miserable,” he admitted, knowing that he would have to tell his mom something to make sense of the whole ordeal.  
  
“I don’t believe that for one second,” she said, nodding knowingly at her son, Daniel looked even more defeated than when he first came in “Daniel, she may say that right now, you have to put yourself in her shoes. She is just getting her career to kick off, a nice man is in a relationship with her, then suddenly her whole life is turned upside down,”  
  
“it doesn’t have to be, you still did loads of stuff when you had me and Alex.” Claire gave him another knowing look, as he felt he was in for another scotch lecture, only it would be a chamomile tea lecture.   
  
“but, it does Daniel, it changes your life forever, whether you want it to or not. Even if you get a nanny, it is going to be different, you have someone depending on you- you cannot just opt out when you feel like it, I can understand why she would be overwhelmed.” Claire sounded sympathetic towards him, although he knew his mother was an extremely no nonsense type of person, she must be sympathising with Betty too.  
  
“she didn’t say anything about that, she just said she didn’t want it,” Daniel told his mother, an edge creeping up into his voice, as much as he loved Betty he was really mad at her right now. He tried to understand what she was going through, but it wasn’t easy since he had been waiting to have a child with someone for quite a while. He had imagined it would be Betty when they first entered their relationship, he certainly didn’t imagine it to be so soon, but the world had been turned upside down since Betty didn’t want that to happen.  
  
“Daniel, a woman’s body is her own, you of all people should know this, what Betty decides to do in the end is her choice, even if it is my grandchild in there, she just wants to know that you love and support her,” Claire grabbed his unoccupied hand, but Daniel felt even angrier, he knew that he couldn’t control Betty’s life, and he didn’t want to, but he couldn’t stand his mother standing up for Betty as well when he was so mad at her.  
  
“I do, I told her that, and then she said she had kissed another guy, I am wondering how far she went with him, or even if it is my child,” he said, looking sullen.   
  
“Daniel!” Claire said, looking outraged, Daniel stepped back, not wanting to get slapped, his mother didn’t hold back in correcting Daniel’s behaviour.   
  
“what?”  
  
“I don’t think Betty would do that, especially since she dotes on you, who kissed who then?” she sat on one of her satin chairs opposite the couch. His mother’s apartment was very different from the oppressed atmosphere of their old mansion, which was all dark wood, and heavy furniture, with grand bookcases that lined the room. This apartment instead was light and airy, with the colour scheme being silver and cream, with a lot of overstuffed furniture. He didn’t mind being in this palace of femininity because his mom was happy, that was all that mattered.   
  
“he kissed her,” Daniel huffed momentarily, very aware that he sounded like a sulky toddler “apparently,”  
  
“and you don’t believe her?”  
  
Daniel wanted to believe her, he really did, but he felt so scorned and hurt by what she had said he didn’t think he would be able to go through with the whole forgiveness of Betty. “I do, but she said something even more hurtful mom, and I am not ready to forgive her,”  
  
“what did she say?” Claire asked, her voice patient, the same one she had used when he was a small boy, who was being deliberately stubborn.  
  
“I am not going to repeat it,” he said, and watched his mother as she looked very confused, but he wasn’t going to tell his mom what she had said because he was sure she didn’t mean it.  
  
“Betty is probably very hormonal, and has no idea what she is saying, especially when she is so stressed. You think of all the crazy things I’ve said while I was drunk, and then think: Betty is hormonal, stressed out from work, upset, worried, and probably feeling sick on top of it all, so as much as I like Betty I wouldn’t believe a word she says,” Claire raised her eyebrows, patting Daniel’s hand as she stalked back into the kitchen.  
  
“really? Doesn’t that seem a bit…?”  
  
“dear, it isn’t offensive if it has happened to you, believe me, I remember more from my drunken escapades than I do from when I was pregnant with you two, probably because I was so tired all the time, you were a very big baby Daniel, I would tell Betty that. You might want to apologise for it, as well as all the other stuff,”  
  
“what other stuff, I wasn’t the one who kissed someone else or who sounded relieved at the thought of a miscarriage,” he grumbled.  
  
“she said that… ooh,” his mother raised her eyebrows, taking something out of the microwave, which she proceeded to rapidly stab.   
  
“what? I was really upset,” Daniel couldn’t help but pout, not understanding why his mother was taking this so lightly. What Betty had said had really hurt.   
  
“I know, sweetheart- but she doesn’t mean it,”  
  
“she sounded like she meant it,” Daniel leant back against the couch, wishing for some alcohol in the house so he could get drunk and not have to deal about it until the morning.  
  
“she is tired, probably terrified that you were going to react badly, and worried about all this other stuff. It is different situation for her, yes, she is too carrying the child of a Meade, but you are not married to her,” to that Daniel’s eyes widened a bit, he had thought of it, just not until a bit later, and he certainly wasn’t going to propose because of the baby thing, knowing Betty she would hate the outdated chivalry.   
  
“I- I don’t think-,”  
  
“you don’t have to do that, but when I had your brother I was married, and not doing anything in particular, except for ignoring your fathers philandering. It was a good time for me, but it isn’t for Betty. She does love you, but she is trying to kick-start her career, and even if you get all the nannies in the world, Betty will want to spend time with her baby, and look how busy she already is?” his mother had always had the amazing gift of showing things from other people’s perspectives.   
  
“I know, but I so badly want a baby,”  
  
“I know you do, but Betty has also known you a long time, she knew you when the mere idea of holding a child would have made you run for your scotch bottle,”  
  
Daniel frowned slightly “mom, I’m not loving the analogy,”  
  
“shh, and let me finish. She is probably worried about telling you, in case you revert back to playboy mode,”  
  
“mom, don’t be ridiculous, that part of me is dead!” that part of him died with molly as morbid as it was, however it was true, he did love Betty, however he would always have a special place in his heart for molly. He also knew his playboy days were long over, he tried that in the Bahamas and it didn’t work, he couldn’t even rise to the occasion.  
  
“good, I didn’t like that Daniel so much,”  
  
“thanks mom,” he loved his mother, but her bluntness was kind of annoying sometimes, especially when dealing with a sensitive issue where it wasn’t necessary, or even helpful for her to be that blunt,   
  
“anyway, give her some time son, wait until she isn’t so stressed, and has come to terms with the idea of a baby. Did she just find out today?”  
  
“yeah,”   
  
“well, then she hasn’t even had time to process that she is going to push a big baby out of her-,” Daniel’s eyes widened, not wanting his mother to finish that sentence at all. “what? You were nine pounds, mind you Betty has the hips for it,”  
  
“mom!” even though they were in the privacy of his mother’s apartment Daniel didn’t feel like having this incredibly weird conversation.  
  
“I am just saying, anyway I think you should leave her to mull it over a bit, but let her know you are here,” Claire said, nodding wisely at Daniel, whose hands were shaking so much he looked as if he was about to tip the tea all over him.   
  
“I told her I loved her,”  
  
“that is a start, but I want you to call her, and make sure she is okay,”  
  
“she doesn’t want to speak to me,” Daniel pouted, however his mother was unwavering in her insistence. She pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket, as she practically threw it in his face.  
  
“talk to her, tell her that you love her and that you will always support her and the baby,”  
  
“I already said that,” Daniel mumbled, but he didn’t say anything else about the subject and instead took the phone off of his lap, dialling Betty’s number. Claire walked out of the room, the smile on her face evident, he knew why his mother was happy, she was getting the grandchild that she had always wanted. Sure, she had DJ, but she had missed most of his childhood, and he lived across an ocean from her. Claire wanted a baby she could spoil, a grandchild that would come and stay with her because it’s parents wanted some alone time.  
  
“hello?” it rung quite a few times, and when she picked up he could hear that she had been crying.   
  
“Betty, are you okay?” he asked, curling his phone up by his ear.   
  
“no, I’m pregnant and miserable, and you hate me,”  
  
“didn’t I just say that I love you, because I do,” he let his voice drop to the whispery pitch that he knew made Betty melt even when she was mad at him.  
  
“why did you walk out then?” she asked, sniffing as she started to cry again, he knew his mother wanted to let Betty have a little time to herself, especially since she was still processing this incredibly life changing news, but he wanted Betty to be with him right now, she was less worried when they were together.  
  
“because I was mad, but I am at my mom’s and she is really happy about the baby, but she also understands why you got so mad,” he heard a little gasp, knowing Betty wouldn’t be best impressed with him for telling his mom. “okay, I didn’t mean to tell her, it was sort of an accident, but she blamed me for being too sensitive, apparently, she doesn’t remember half of her time being pregnant, so I shouldn’t hold you accountable for what you say,”  
  
“I love you,” she sounded like she was crying again, although he hoped this time it would be because she was happiness.   
  
“good, I love you too. Are you okay?”  
  
“yeah,” she sighed, her breath ragged as it always was when she was crying, “I just feel bad, because the baby probably heard me,”  
  
“the baby is too young to even know what you are talking about Betty, wait until it’s brain has actually developed, but when it is actually born it will know how much we love it,” he could still hear Betty sniffing down the line, as he didn’t doubt that she was crying again.  
  
“but I said bad things about it,”  
  
“you said things because you were frightened, but I doubt that you will be able to not love this baby, you are kind to a lot of people who aren’t to you,”   
  
“stop, you are making me cry again,” she sobbed and Daniel smiled. Betty was a crier, and often very emotional, but he didn’t mind, it kind of balanced out his own inability to be emotionally normal, although he was going to blame his family for that: his dad and Alexis had the killer instinct, they were able to smell blood in the water, while his mother was used to masking her emotions at the bottom of a bottle.   
  
“did you stop?”  
  
“ha, ha.” She sniffed again, as Daniel took another sip of his tea, feeling a lot calmer, he didn’t know where his mother had gone, but Daniel was sure she wouldn’t mind if he invited Betty over to come and see Claire, they had always gotten on so well, often when he was being an ass to her, they had united to cheer each other up.   
  
“why don’t you come and see my mom, she could probably tell you all about being pregnant, and I want to see you,” he thought that Betty would like to come over, to sit with them and take away the sense of upset. He knew he had caused some of that, by reacting that way, but he just hoped Betty could forgive him in the end, he did love her after all.  
  
“I don’t know, it is late and I want to go to sleep,” Betty argued, but her tone was weak as if she couldn’t even convince herself, let alone him. Claire had emerged from the other room, holding a pillowcase across her body as she folded it up.  Daniel remembered, his mom had a spare room, which Betty would be more than welcome to stay in overnight.   
  
“well, my mom has a spare room, and she would totally love to see you without your braces,” Daniel smiled up at his mom, completely forgetting to tell her about the incident that led to Betty getting her braces off.   
  
“oh, I have totally forgotten, I think I stole my own thunder with getting pregnant!” she sounded surprised, as her words came out garbled, he could tell she was feeling her teeth with her tongue again.   
  
“okay, Betty. Do you want to come see my mom, the guest room is really nice?” he asked, smiling up at his mother in asking her about the guest room, she nodded, Daniel knew that this would be a good thing for them, especially since Betty was so worried, and his mother’s frank honesty is helpful when trying to decide how you feel about something.  
  
“really Daniel? Can you even do… that when you are pregnant?” she asked, sounding a bit surprised. Daniel had only intended it to sleep, considering his mother was in the next room, although knowing her she would probably just mock his sense of self control when he did the walk of shame in the morning. But that stirred up a new question, could they? What would a whole nine months be like without sex? Ever since his first time he hadn’t not had sex in that long, and of course after she had the baby- Daniel felt really panicked all of a sudden, which he blamed for the high-pitched tone of his voice.   
  
“I meant to sleep, but- mom!” he called Claire over who made no attempt to act as if she hadn’t been listening to their whole conversation.   
  
“what is it dear?”  
  
“can we still… you know when Betty is pregnant?” again his mom surprised him by laughing at him, as Daniel blushed a painful red.   
  
“yes, don’t worry about that dear, things might even get better with the increased blood-flow, but change the sheets after, okay?” she smiled, walking back into the kitchen, Daniel was just glad Betty wasn’t there to see him blush.   
  
“what did she say?” Betty asked, sounding panicked herself, “Daniel?!”  
  
“she said it was fine, and to change the sheets,” he could imagine Betty blushing at that as she tried to laugh through the tears.  
  
“can you send a town car?”  
  
“don’t you dare go outside without one, you are pregnant and you need to be protected.” He argued, he knew that he was going to be way too overprotective, and Betty was going to get annoyed quite rightly at him, because he was going to be annoying, but it wouldn’t matter because he would do anything to make sure she was safe.   
  
“really? Are we really going to do that?”  
  
“yes, Betty, we really are. Bring pyjamas,”  
  
There was a short moment of comfortable silence “I’m wearing them,” Daniel chuckled, his girlfriend was so damn adorable, she was just the cutest thing he had ever seen sometimes and then suddenly he would reminded of how sexy she was, which led to him not being able to control his desires for her, which was probably why she was pregnant. “don’t laugh at me,”  
  
“I’m not, it isn’t your fault that you are adorable, the town car is on its way,” he quickly texted his driver, who probably wasn’t the happies about having to go all the way back to somewhere he had just driven away from, but never said anything, Daniel decided he would be getting a raise for all his gallant work.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for it being so long since the last update, I have been very busy so I haven't had time to update that often, but here is the next chapter, updates will be more frequent from now on! The next few chapters are full of angst, but it is still a detty story and it will have a happy ending. Remember, things are not what they seem!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!

“so, is she coming?” his mother asked, sitting back in her chair as Betty hung up the phone on Daniel, he sat back on the couch grinning at his mother.  
  
“yeah, she wants to show you her teeth, since the braces came off today,”  
  
“oh yes, how did that go?” we actually have an interesting story to go with that. Mom, I have loads of stuff to do, can I plug my laptop in,” he asked, he did actually have to finish some stuff for work, it was sad but the magazine business was slowly dying.   
  
“sure thing,” Claire did sound a little bitter, which couldn’t be helped, Daniel did forget most everyone else when he was in a new relationship, even if he had known this person for the past four years, it didn’t change anything on that front. However, she was extremely grateful for Betty, who spent most of her time with both Daniel and her, saying it was good for them. That was before the Tyler incident, though.   
  
“could you also help me for a moment, I need someone else’s opinion?” Claire smiled, bringing over his charger as they sat on the couch and poured through the articles, which Daniel needed to find a better way of laying it out.   
  
Soon enough they heard another knock on the door, at which point it was followed by some rather imaginative cursing, not actually any curse words, which was why it was so imaginative. Daniel ran to the door, hearing the sounds of his girlfriend’s adorable made-up swearwords and opened it to find a sopping wet Betty. She flapped her sleeves, which were literally dripping onto the floor. Daniel immediately went into panic mode, not wanting Betty to be cold and wet.   
  
“it’s raining,” she said in response to his panic. Daniel quickly pulled her inside, now hearing the heavy rain splattering against the window, and also noticing Betty not having a coat on.  
  
“why didn’t you put on a coat?” he asked, pulling her to sit on the couch, her fluffy pyjamas soaked through. He was glad she at least wore shoes instead of her bunny slippers Daniel knew she had at her house.   
  
“I wanted to come and see you, and show your mom my teeth!” she bounced excitedly on the couch, while a mesmerised Daniel tried not to stare. Claire came out of the kitchen, smiling at Betty who rose from the couch, no doubt worried about making the furniture as soaked as she was.  
  
“hello, dear!” she hugged Betty gingerly, not wanting to wet her own clothes.   
  
“hi, Mrs. Meade,” Betty made an extra-effort to smile at Claire wanting to show Claire her new teeth, Claire grinned too as Betty smiled at her.  
“wow, don’t you look lovely, dear? Now, are you feeling okay, and I found some of Daniel’s old clothes for you,” she held out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, that Daniel didn’t even know his mother had. “they might be a little big, but I thought they would fit you a bit better than Alexis’s, which aren’t really appropriate, anyway,”  
  
“thanks Mrs. Meade,” Betty took the clothes, grateful to have something to wear that was actually warm.   
  
“well, I don’t want my grandchild freezing in there,” she shooed Betty off to the guest room, as Betty smiled. She tenderly placed a hand on her stomach, wanting to feel the fluttering again of the baby. She needed to make an appointment at the doctors to see how far along she was with the baby, she really wasn’t sure. She hadn’t had any major symptoms, only she had been putting on weight for a while, she just thought it was the stress making her binge eat.  
  
She eventually got changed, the clothes were too long for her, but tight around the chest and butt, she didn’t mind, and Betty knew Daniel wouldn’t have any problem with it whatsoever. She stepped out back into his mother’s living room, where Daniel was on the phone to someone in rather a heated conversation, Claire however drew her away from him, and back into the kitchen were Betty sat at the island countertop.  
“so, dear, Daniel tells me you have a funny story about how you got your braces off,” Betty nodded, as she recited the story to Claire, who laughed a lot more at the important bits than Daniel did, although it wasn’t that funny the first time around.   
  
“well, you look lovely dear, I heard your father made you all your favourite foods for dinner. Do you have any questions about the pregnancy?” Claire pushed a hot chocolate across the island count er, smiling at Betty, who sipped the cream off the top of the drink.  
  
“yeah, I do…but I feel silly asking,”  
  
“Betty, there is no reason for you to feel silly, you are hormonal and I heard you crying down the phone to Daniel,” Betty blushed when Claire said that “I also cried on the way over,” Betty said.  
  
“well, that is natural. I remember how I knew I was pregnant with Alexis, I was crying into my martini, before I even had a drink,” she smiled, chuckling at Betty who bit her lip anxiously.   
  
“well, do you think Daniel is going to be mad at me for what I said?” she wrung her hands, blinking anxiously at Claire, who was quick to reassure her.  
  
“he better not be, I don’t want to have to tell him again what you are going through,” she muttered sternly.  
  
“well, I was also wondering about how far along I could be,” Betty was worried about this, for reasons that she wasn’t going to tell Daniel, or anyone for that matter, not if she had her way. It was something she knew that she would have to carry around with her the rest of her life, because she did not want to see Daniel incarcerated for murder in the first degree, or Mrs. Meade… again (they recounted that story practically every day). She hoped that she didn’t come across as too tense when she was asking the question, it was a perfectly acceptable question: right?   
  
Claire nodded at her, sipping her own coca, that Betty hoped, for everyone’s sake wasn’t infused with schnapps, however it might turn off the woman’s remarkable intuition if she was drunk. Betty felt the first of cold beads of sweat roll down her spine chilling her, which only confirmed her theory that she looked twice as nervous as the people on trial.  
  
“well, it depends… I didn’t start showing properly until three months with Alex, and I wasn’t really sick with either of them, but I did gain some weight,” she looked inquisitively at Betty’s body, fitted into Daniel’s old blue t shirt, it made her feel even fatter than ever, despite that the shirt was in dress like proportions on her tiny frame.  
  
“I don’t know when I started to gain weight,” Betty wasn’t certain, although she was desperately trying to remember when she first noticed her weight gain, especially when Claire had the look of intense planning on her face. She quickly put her hand up onto the counter, trying to stop Claire, but she had already called the one person she didn’t want in this conversation.  
  
“Daniel!” her clear voice rang out into the living room, while Betty cringed. She was terrified of Daniel finding out what she had been trying so hard to hide, the comments had already tipped him over the edge, even if he didn’t know the whole story. It wouldn’t be a problem for a normal relationship, all her ex-boyfriends were never as talented at reading her as Daniel was, even if she claimed that henry was her first love.   
  
“what is it mom?” Daniel strolled into the kitchen, trying to act nonchalant, but he must be really dumb if he thought that was going to fool his mother, especially when his eyes zeroed in on Betty’s belly, making her feel twice as uncomfortable as she already was.  
  
Claire sighed, seeing Daniel’s obviously awful attempt at not caring, Claire knew that Daniel did care, the DJ thing had really mucked him up with Daniel losing sleep for a long time afterwards, not even going back to relying on the kindness of models… that and many other attributes, but this was his child, and even though she could not blame Betty- pregnancy did strange things to the mind, she didn’t want Daniel to be all upset. “I just wanted you to answer some questions,” she said, raising her eyebrows, already in interrogation mode.   
  
“what did I do?” Daniel reeled back, panicked, Claire knew that he was worried about the baby, especially after what Betty said earlier. She might have been high on hormones, but she knew Betty wouldn’t say something like that just because she was feeling overwhelmed. Betty wasn’t like that, having watched her sister go through her own stressful pregnancy, but she had always remained one of the kindest people Claire had ever met. She may have been ambitious but there was a fine line between ambitious and having a killer instinct, one of those things Claire was exceedingly pleased Betty didn’t have.  
  
“nothing, dear. Betty was just wondering about her due date,”  
  
“oh,” Daniel looked momentarily confused, but his expression cleared pretty quickly, “I thought we were going to the doctors for that?” he sidled up to Betty, wrapping his arm around her waist, a little too low for it to be so obvious for Claire to notice it.  
  
“well, we will get an appointment tomorrow, but we have some questions-,” she motioned to Betty who looked away from Daniel and instead at the fridge, which had all kinds of interesting photo frames on it, there was even a picture of her and Daniel, which Betty didn’t know when, or _who_ took the picture.   
  
“baby, are you okay?” he asked, as Claire watched her son. It was different growing up with two boys, when what she wanted wasn’t in reach: she and Bradford had desperately wanted a baby girl, which when gifted with two boys she was happy about it, but sometimes she felt as if she was missing something, a different part of herself that no one knew about. When she had given birth to Tyler she had felt disappointed, not just that she was going to have to give this baby up as well, but also because she wished she was a girl.   
  
There was something different with Daniel, Claire, being his mother had seen the different sides to Daniel Meade, some of which she wished she could permanently un-see. But, she missed this part of Daniel, the sensitive and caring part of him, that hid between the brooding which Daniel hid behind the cloak of addiction. She had missed this with molly, the need to capture every moment like it was sand slipping through his fingers, because of the fickleness of life. But this was something else, this was a crisis that wouldn’t necessarily end in heartbreak.  
  
“I’m fine, I just wanted to know some other things,” she looked towards Claire, like a bizarre game of pass the parcel only with unspoken worries.   
  
“like if you noticed a change in anything, Betty related… physically,” while Claire might have been an expert in being blunt on most things, the unease in Betty’s smile was something she should be concerned about. Sure, Betty had just had her braces off, when Daniel had his off he spent most of the time with his mouth open licking his teeth to see if they were completely new ones, then disturbed by nightmares that the orthodontist had stolen his old ones.  
  
Daniel looked between Betty and his mother, the expression on his face of disbelief that they were actually questioning that, or maybe that he was slightly confused with his mother being vague. Well, that would confuse anyone who knew her and her normal blunt attitude. Betty however, knew better how to deal with Daniel at his most confused “did you notice me getting fatter,”  
  
“you aren’t fat,” Daniel said so quickly it could be a reflex.  
  
“Daniel…?”  
  
“fine I noticed, um her ass-ets getting bigger as well as her top assets,” he admitted, tightening his grip on Betty’s waist until she looked a little uncomfortable.  
  
“when?” Claire continued to press on, knowing this might reveal Betty’s secret, it was more likely to since Betty was waiting with a baited breath, her cheeks practically turning pink with the suspense.   
  
“about a month ago,” Daniel admitted, looking sheepish. Betty stared at him, her expression reading a whole lot of betrayal as she was undoubtedly worried about the whole situation.   
  
“a month? Daniel why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.   
  
“because I don’t want to ask my girlfriend if she has put on weight, I know if I did that to Amanda I would be the one giving birth… to my testicles,” Betty cringed, not wanting that image in her head, nor did Claire. Claire was worried about Betty, the relief on her face looked as if she had just been let loose from gun-point, not that she could be a month into her pregnancy.  
  
“okay,” Betty laughed slightly, as Daniel’s hugging got a bit fiercer, his hands battling to try and reach what Claire guessed was a ticklish spot on Betty’s waist. This wasn’t something Claire particularly wanted to witness. She knew how insistent a pregnant woman could get. Heart attacks could make men go a bit wild, but pregnancy was something that did it for a lot of women.   
  
“should I make an appointment?” she turned her eyes away from the sight of her son, who looked as if he was about to take Betty right there on the marble of the island countertop.  
  
“huh?” Daniel turned away from Betty’s neck to focus on his disapproving mother.   
  
“should. I. Make. An. Appointment. With. The. Doctors?”  
  


“erm, sure thing. Thanks mom, also can I have the DVD from the TV, I want to watch it with Betty?” he asked, grabbing a hold of Betty’s waist as he didn’t wait for her reply. Claire watched their retreating backs into the living room sadly. Her mind had wandered to many different places when her middle son was in love. She had always counted on his devotion to her the most, but when he was in love it was a different story. At least she liked Betty, the girl was the closest thing to a daughter that Claire had ever had.

  
Daniel woke up to the sound of Betty’s light breathing, okay… her light snoring, but he could hardly complain since she was pregnant, and adorable.  
  
“hey?” he rolled onto his side, facing Betty. She was slowly opening her eyes as she smiled at him, it wasn’t the sleepy smile that she had graced him with so many times before, or her megawatt smile. This one was more skilled, seductive.   
  
“hey, I don’t have my braces now, do you want me to kiss you?” she asked, wriggling over to him underneath the warm duvet. Daniel felt like jumping to the opportunity because he could really appreciate Betty’s new figure without the risk of getting slapped. She stretched out against the duvet again, reminding Daniel somewhat of a cat, only one that was currently kissing his collarbone in a very seductive manner.   
  
“yeah, maybe. In a minute,” he pointed to his mouth by way of excuse “morning breath,” Daniel knew Betty wouldn’t believe him one bit. She always said that his favourite time to kiss her was when his breath reeked of scotch or some other strong alcohol.  
  
But what was really going through Daniel’s mind had nothing to do with that. Betty didn’t hide things from him, she was frank and honest most of the time, even if she did do the occasional honey glaze to protect his feelings. It had all to do with his mother, and the conversation they had last night.  
  
It wasn’t that his trust for Betty had changed in the last few hours, but it was replaced by worry. For her and their baby. Worry isn’t the strongest foundation to build trust on, even if it was because of his mother’s suspicion. It was just a thought, he didn’t have to be so wound up. It wasn’t like his mother knew all of what was going on with them.   
  
“Daniel, wait?” she chased after him, even if it was only down a hallway. He turned back to see her anxious face and he felt terrible, he didn’t want to upset her. That wasn’t the point of worrying about someone, the point was to look after someone; to have the right instincts to do it.   
“are you okay?”  
  
“yeah, just- I am worried about you,” she came up by his side, forgetting that they were in his mother’s apartment and kissed him full on the lips. Kissing Betty felt fantastic, especially without the braces, since her tongue was doing all sorts of interesting things that he would have never expected of her. It completely overrode his thought for a sarcastic comment over his own concern for her, which was probably a good thing.   
  
“you don’t need to do that, Betty. I’m fine, but you are the one I am worried about,” she looked as if he was completely insane as Betty stopped right in front of him.  
  
“why are you worried about me?” she didn’t sound happy about it, she didn’t sound as if she was pleased someone would care. She sounded angry. Daniel knew the quickest route possible out of this situation, the one where she wasn’t mad at him.   
  
“because you are pregnant and you got drenched last night, I don’t want the baby to catch a cold,” what could he say? He was a coward.   
  
She softened. “what about me? don’t I count?” he smiled, her change in mood was almost laughable… almost.   
  
He took her soft hands in his, swinging them between each other almost like a cradle between themselves “no, you are very important too, and I do love you,” he leant over to kiss her again, softer this time.   
  
“why don’t we go and get a shower? I am really sweaty,” she sighed, releasing his hands. At Daniel’s look she blushed again “what? Having a bra worth more than my house, _and_ your car, attached to my bargain basement braces is really exhausting, haven’t you ever felt like that,”  
  
“no, I was just tired watching you,” he smiled, pushing her forward, towards the bathroom, which thankfully wasn’t the only one with a lock. They seemed to have forgotten everything else, even such things that shouldn’t be forgotten- like whose house you are in, luckily Claire was discreet, and didn’t disturb them at all.   
  
Betty got out of the shower, blushing as Daniel grabbed her from behind, wrapping the towel around the both of them as he nuzzled into her neck, gently kissing her soft, smooth skin. She smiled, leaning back against Daniel responding to his ministrations, she was surprised how intense it was even when they had made love in a shower before it had been somewhat awkward with the height difference, until Daniel got his special shelf installed (that was a fun one to sign for, judging by the look on the delivery boy’s face).  
  
“so, is pregnant sex better?” he asked, spinning her around to kiss her again.   
  
“yeah, it is… now, I have a question,” Daniel threw his head back against the glass of the shower, obviously slightly frustrated at her being so persistent.  
  
“what?” Daniel groaned, not the most impressed with Betty’s timing since things were looking as if they were just about to heat up again.  
  
“why are you worried about me?” Betty asked, with her hands on her hips, not the most intimidating pose since her towel was falling down, revealing her luscious body to his gaze. However, her stern gaze, as much as it was a turn on, wasn’t doing it for him right that moment, which is probably why he was able to look sceptical. She knew why he was worried about her.   
  
Betty seemed to have forgotten that they could read each other like a first-grade level book, what he didn’t bargain on was the tears. She was crying again, remembering what his mother said he tried his best to comfort Betty, knowing she didn’t get all in a tizzy for no reason. She may be a romantic, but she was logical person. She wouldn’t just burst into tears for no apparent reason, even when she was pregnant. “I’m sorry,” she snivelled into his bare chest, as he manoeuvred to sit down, even if it was on the toilet lid.  
  
“why are you sorry?” there was the uneasy part of Daniel that everyone said was his intuition, although it only seemed to flare up when he was worried about something, not when he was trying to prevent himself from doing something stupid. But this part of Daniel told him he didn’t want to know the answer to that. He wasn’t going to like it.   
  
“erm,” she wriggled off his lap, encouraged by him to stand in front of him, clutching the towel further around herself. “why don’t we talk about it somewhere else?” she suggested, moving away from him ever so slightly.   
  
“okay, are your clothes from yesterday dry?” he asked, completely forgetting she was, in fact, in pyjamas.   
  
“you mean my pyjamas? I didn’t bring any other clothes,”   
  
“Betty, I am not going on a wild goose chase for your clothes just to hear some bad news, I will take you home, and then you need to tell me,” it was ironic, but Daniel had never truly been the boss. Okay, he might have been the person who told Betty to get his morning coffee, and even fire her on one occasion- but she had always been the real boss. She sorted him out before he even realised what they needed to do for that day; so, he wasn’t used to being in control.   
  
“okay, I am so sorry… okay please don’t be mad at me,”  
  
“the more you say that, the more worried I am going to get,” he raised his eyebrows, too pulling on his pants which were lying by the shower. Betty frowned at him, biting her lip. Betty knew that drove Daniel crazy but she didn’t know if it would work if he wasn’t looking at her. She pulled on her pyjamas, annoyed at Daniel even though he was worried for her, he wasn’t mad, but he was acting disappointed. How could he possibly know?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

They eventually got to Betty’s house, where Hilda met them at the front door, looking as if she was going to slap Daniel, which is why he hid behind Betty. But she eventually did let them inside, not until she gave Daniel a lecture just with her facial expression.  
  
“why are you back here?”   
  
“I need to get dressed,” Betty argued then ran up the stairs, and into her bedroom. Hilda had Daniel cornered against the front door, where Daniel very much felt as if he was on the plains of Africa, stuck between a wall and a woman that looked as she was about to prey on him.  
  
“why did you leave yesterday?” she asked, her pointed pink nails inches from his face. Daniel couldn’t help but stammer, he had always been a bit frightened of Hilda, he guessed that wasn’t going to get any better considering he had knocked up her baby sister.   
  
“well,” he gulped. Hilda took another step forward, where Daniel felt like his knees were going to give out in fear.  “erm, she told me about the playwright,” Daniel whispered, knowing that Betty and Hilda shared everything.  
  
“oh, I am surprised that you actually invited her over for that!” she whistled backing away from him. Daniel froze, he knew that Hilda and Betty shared a lot, he did the same with his mother. But he didn’t realise they shared _everything_ , because most of the time his image in the general public was of a heartless himbo with no regard for the sanctity of… anything. But he had told Betty all about his issues with cheating, and how even just a kiss could really upset him. All the time he had been dating Betty he hadn’t even thought of another woman.  
  
“did she tell you about my issues with cheating?” he asked, moving over to sit on the stairs, maybe he could ask about the thing his mother said. She was worried about Betty, the jumpiness, the concern over the conceived date. His worst-case scenario was that something awful had happened to Betty.   
  
“yeah, that is why I was surprised. I mean she slept with someone else and now she is pregnant,” Hilda said, while Daniel tried to comprehend it. Betty slept with someone else?! What? He couldn’t imagine Betty doing something like that, he just thought it was a kiss- but she didn’t say what happened after. His head was spinning, and he felt he should be taking a drink of something so that he could spit it out in surprise.   
  
“she- erm?” he breathed, feeling as if his chest was constricting.  
  
“oh,”  
  
“she said it was just a kiss,”  
  
Hilda flinched slightly “I think you need to talk,” she raised her eyebrows running back up the stairs. Daniel felt as if his heart had just been stamped on, which it had been. He was glad Betty hadn’t been assaulted or anything, but this was awful. She had made the choice to sleep with someone else.   
  
Did that mean the baby wasn’t even his? He didn’t know when this had happened, but he was just terrified that her child would not be his. He couldn’t imagine that, it had been hard enough to imagine Betty moving on with one of her official boyfriends, but to do this!   
  
Daniel couldn’t remember how long he just sat at the bottom of her stairs, lost in his thoughts of Betty and her infidelity. He had even forgotten to tell his mom where they were going, they had left her apartment with a word of thanks and an undisclosed location.   
  
He certainly did not expect that of her, he always thought that Betty wouldn’t do something like that to him. They were best friends, they shared everything. Daniel knew things would change slightly when they were dating, but if Betty wanted a bit of space she could have just told him, instead of cheating on him. He heard a mumble behind him, and whipped around, expecting to see Betty with an apologetic look on her face. He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t be righteous about it.  
  
But, instead it was Ignacio, in his dressing gown, looking slightly intrigued. “Daniel, did you sleep here, because I thought Betty went out?” he jammed his thumb in the direction of her room, but Daniel shook his head, standing up.  
  
“no, we went to my mom’s. Betty wanted to show her the lack of braces, and-,” Daniel froze, he had nearly told Ignacio Betty was pregnant, that wouldn’t be good for either of them.  
  
“and?” Ignacio looked even more intrigued. Daniel was trying to convince his girlfriend’s father that there was nothing was going on. Daniel wasn’t helping the situation by blushing.  
  
“oh, just talk about some MODE related stuff. I am supposed to be going to London for fashion week soon, and Betty was talking about pitches relating to-,”  
  
“is Betty coming to London with you?” Ignacio asked. Daniel was thrown slightly off guard, he was going to suggest that she come with him, but with all recent developments he wasn’t sure he wanted her to. It wasn’t just going to be another business trip, instead he would try and make it as romantic as possible, but her father didn’t have to know that.  
  
“I don’t know, I was going to suggest it to her, I thought she might like to come,” Daniel suggested, wringing his hands in front of him.  
  
“well, I am sure she would, but Hilda has her wedding soon-,”   
  
“I was actually thinking that it could be for her bachelorette party, and I could make sure Betty doesn’t go too crazy,” Ignacio chuckled at the thought of that, although he couldn’t see it from Daniel’s point of view. All Daniel could think about, was that he was still offering this, even after Betty had cheated on him, where there was still confusion of whose baby it was. But, it shouldn’t stop her from having opportunities, even if she had broken his heart.   
  
“really? That would be brilliant Daniel. Hilda has been pushing with something travel related, I just didn’t know whether or not I could do anything about it,”   
  
“don’t worry about it, Ignacio. I am just waiting for Betty to come down, we are going out to breakfast,” he smiled slightly at the older man, who nodded, stepping past him on the staircase. Surprisingly, Daniel wasn’t mad at all. Whenever his mother recounted all the issues she had with her father, she sounded angry, instead he was just miserable.   
  
“good for you, thank you for doing this, are you sure you don’t want to stay?” Ignacio asked, as he headed to his kitchen. Daniel felt as if someone was choking him when he finally replied.   
  
“no thanks, I just need Betty to get dressed and then we are going out to eat,” Ignacio nodded wisely at that, as Daniel started to wonder if his whole life was a lie. There had been enough plot twists to last him a lifetime, but Betty had always stood by him, only once or twice being the person who caused him grief, but he could equally be blamed for that. In those situations, he should have been the one to open his eyes and see Betty needed someone, so she wouldn’t have to sell her soul to Wilhelmina or whatever.   
  
He was left wondering what he had done wrong, had he been too overbearing? Had he given her too much space? He generally took her out on dates, which she decided, maybe it was his lack of imagination? Maybe she simply realised that she was too good for him, he was older than her, a retired playboy, who was still a trust fund baby.   
  
He was musing over it when he was tapped on the shoulder, as he spun around to face Betty. She didn’t look apologetic, and he wondered if Hilda had told her that he knew at all. She was dressed in her new coat, as well as her new jeans Hilda bought for her when she started her new job. She smiled encouragingly at him, knowing that she was covering something up but not wanting to admit it yet. She did say that she was going to tell him later, so he would just have to wait for it.   
  
They got into the town car, the tension obvious between them, which is probably why there were sitting apart from each other in the town car, since Daniel mostly took the opportunity to count this as their private little grotto, and do some heavy making out.  
  
“Daniel? why are you ignoring me?” Betty had to ask, sliding across her seat to rest her hand on his leg, Daniel tried not to flinch at her touch.  
  
“I am not ignoring you, I am waiting to find out what you are going to tell me,” he raised his eyebrows, knowing the answer to the question already.   
  
“I don’t want to tell you now,” she muttered, pouting at Daniel in such a way he couldn’t help but find her cute, even if he was upset.   
  
“Betty, please. I am really worried, why are you acting so on edge, and what does it have to do with how far along you are?” his mother hadn’t made the appointment yet, but he needed to remind her to use the Meade name to get a fast one, there was no way he was going to take any chances on this. He desperately wanted to have a child, and it would be amazing if he could share that with Betty, but he wasn’t going to share it with another guy.   
  
Daniel hadn’t told anyone this, but he had had a dream that Betty had once gotten pregnant. In the dream, he had stepped up to the plate, looked after her, even though the child wasn’t his. But this was different. For starters: he was already in a relationship with Betty, he didn’t have to show her how much he loved her by being the baby’s surrogate father. They even had the chance to start a family of their own.  
  
“well, you know I told you that I kissed someone,” Daniel was pleasantly unsurprised that Betty was telling him the truth, but he didn’t realise that she would tell him so quickly.   
  
“yeah…”  
  
“it wasn’t just a kiss,” he knew he should stay calm, even if he was supposed to act as if he hadn’t heard it before. At least she was telling him about it, not claiming rehab in south Dakota, even though if they did end up having more children he would try and be nicer to the kid that showed up than he was to Tyler.   
  
“okay,” what Daniel didn’t think about was that his calmness would have unnerved Betty even more than if he started yelling, or crying.   
  
“okay? Why aren’t you freaking out?” she asked, sounding more offended about the possibility of him not reacting than by the problems that were going on, she frowned again at him. “I just told you I slept with someone else, and you just say okay?” she asked, rearing away from him.  
  
“you didn’t say that, you could have meant a little over the top groping,” he raised his eyebrows, while Betty looked even madder. Okay, now he was mad. Daniel was the one that had been cheated on, and the closest he had come to cheating was his ex-fun buddy asking if it was okay to date his brother!  
  
“well I did, I slept with Zachary boule, and I was terrified that you were going to freak out, but all you said was okay?” she was yelling at him now. Oh, the wrath of a pregnant woman, even if he hadn’t done anything wrong.   
  
“I said ‘okay’ because Hilda accidentally told me, but also because all you said was ‘it wasn’t just a kiss’ it could mean a lot of things Betty, it doesn’t always have to mean that the child you might be carrying belongs to another man,” he said, loud enough for the driver to look into the rear-view mirror.  
  
“are you mad?” she had stopped being angry, although he could see she was still flushed. He knew that he should feel angry, if it was anyone else he would feel rightly stricken with the red-hot poker of anger, but with Betty he felt like a beaten puppy. He still loved her even though she has hurt her.    
  
“no, I am terrified that you are going to leave me, or that the baby isn’t mine,”  
  
“when are, we going to the doctor’s office?” she asked, smiling as she moved closer to him.  
  
“when I make the appointment,” he snapped. He felt some flickers of anger rearing up, even though he was doing his best to repress them. He didn’t even know why she did it, or hear an actual apology when she had told him what she had done. For all he knew she was saying sorry for making him worry. “just… why did you sleep with him? Was it me?”  
  
“no, it wasn’t you. I don’t know Daniel, I have only had two proper boyfriends before, sorry, three. Three before you, and I wanted to see what it would be like,” she said, looking sheepishly down at her lap. Okay, now he was mad. She cheated on him, and broke his heart, all to know ‘what it would be like’. For example, the famous man-whore exclusive would only cheat if a gun was held to his head.   
  
But, he did get it. Betty was still a young woman. He was only mildly self-conscious about how much older he was to Betty. When Daniel was Betty’s age he wasn’t sure how many people he was currently dating, or at all through his twenties, but something had changed when Betty was dropped into his life, it took a while but he did realise that you couldn’t just juggle people’s hearts and not expect to drop someone.   
  
“I don’t think that is a legitimate reason to cheat on someone, especially someone who has issues with it, like me,” she looked at him sadly, and for a moment Daniel didn’t know whether or not he could see the real Betty anymore. She was like someone completely different. Someone he wasn’t sure he wanted to be around much longer.   
  
“Daniel, so what? You have issues with it- how many girlfriends did you have at any-one-time Daniel?” she asked cuttingly. Daniel stared at her in shock, he had never even known Betty to be even slightly mean or cutting, maybe to Amanda and marc, but he had only heard recycled insults towards them. Most of the time she apologised after doing so, which led to some pondering at his desk over why marc and Amanda wouldn’t hang out with her. Daniel did end up hearing from them that they liked the mean Betty.  
  
“well, thanks.” He was thrown to thinking about London for some reason. He was going to take Betty on a romantic trip, maybe with an addition of a bachelorette party along with them. Sure enough, he would have work, and Betty would have to entertain her sister, but afterwards he would book them a few nights stay at one of the most romantic hotels in the city.  
  
Daniel wasn’t thinking of proposing, instead he was trying to find out Betty’s opinion on whether or not she would be open to the idea of that, even if it was in the future. Now, Daniel’s ideas had been thrown into sharp relief. This didn’t seem like his Betty. Her time at MODE had changed her, just like she was afraid of.  
  
Betty had been so worried that her late mom wouldn’t approve of the person she was becoming, but his Betty had always remained really sweet, right up until a few weeks ago, then everything seemed to change. He was still in love with her, but something had changed, something had changed so much that he didn’t want to be in this car right now.   
  
“touché, Betty. But, this isn’t the old me we are talking about. This is you, and you are having a baby, which you can’t just suddenly leave with your dad because you want to see what it would be like.” He said, looking anxiously at the driver, who seeing Daniel’s frightened face pulled over into a side road. He took one look at Betty, who didn’t even look like Betty. She had the glasses, but her hair was sleek, long, even when she woke up. Her braces were off, but her smile wasn’t the same, even though he knew it wouldn’t be when the blinding metal was out of her mouth. It didn’t seem like his Betty.  
  
“Daniel, please don’t be obtuse,”   
  
“I am not being obtuse, I am being realistic. The Betty I knew thought things over- _twice_ , then made a list. What happened?”  
  
“I have responsibilities.” Her voice was pompous and she was frowning at him, her eyes colder than what he had previously imagined. “I have a lot to do, and I don’t have time to babysit you and write _lists_!”  
  
“you did more when you were ‘babysitting’ me! Betty, I know being an editor is hard, but you were coping amazingly. You got your story run in MODE for the Bahamas issue, you even put Wilhelmina in the hospital, but were still apologetic, even if she is the devil- who was actually wearing Prada.” He thought for a moment about how most of the crazy stuff turned out to be coincidentally crazy.   
  
“no I don’t, Daniel you have no idea how hard it is for me,”  
  
“sorry, I guess being an EIC is just another training day,” he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at Betty who was still glaring at him. “and why are you mad at me? You are the one who cheated on me!” he asked, finally saying what he had been dying to say for a while. He knew that this Betty was probably going to take offence, but there was some part of him that wished he could go back to the start of their relationship.   
  
He would do anything to start again, to see the sweet, somewhat naïve girl who crashed into his life, the one who would leave him kind notes when she packed his lunch, the one would wipe his mouth when he got food around it (even though she knew he hated it when she did that) he would not put her through assistant hazing, or what she liked to call ‘hell week’. What Daniel didn’t want was another woman where he couldn’t even say their name because he was too heartbroken to even think about them.  
  
“I know, but you can’t blame me,”  
  
“actually, I think I can, Betty-,”  
  
She raised her voice, moving across the car, and sitting up higher so she could be more intimidating with her short stature, “no, you can’t because you are the one who cheated first,” she accused. Daniel was speechless, he had not done anything, with anyone ever since he started to be interested in Betty, his fun buddy arrangement with Amanda was over before matt even left, couldn’t anyone see how much in love he was with Betty. His mother knew, she had acted as if they were way overdue to actually realise their feelings for each other.  
  
“yes, obviously, Betty,” his voice was more sarcastic than he could ever remember. Great, he was having an argument with a pregnant woman. Worse was, he may have been being sarcastic but she looked relieved. He wasn’t that surprised when the car door swung shut in his face as she practically ran down the street. The driver looked at him in confusion.  
  
“I wasn’t expecting that. Did you really cheat on her?” he asked, Daniel glanced at the man, the irritation evident.   
  
“no! I was being sarcastic; couldn’t anyone tell that?” Daniel asked, opening the car door himself.   
  


“you are not the best communicator, sir,” he said, even though Daniel was already out of the car. As much as she was mad at Betty, he didn’t want to let her walk alone on the cold streets of New York just because they had a little argument. She didn’t even have her warm coat, although the dull nature of her coat did make it hard to spot her. Oh, how he wished for that blue, puffy monstrosity that she once called a coat, then her bright pink one. He did still look up and down the street, although he couldn’t see Betty at all. She was gone, he had lost her and Daniel wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t come back.

 

 

  
Daniel stepped into the hallway of his old apartment building, the one he used to share with molly. He had gone back to the car, then participated in his old hobby of bar hopping, drinking cheap watered down beer, and Coca-Cola all night. When he went home he was barely tipsy, his speech was perfect and the cab that took him home didn’t try and fleece him out of any more money.   
  
He arrived at the apartment, having called Betty’s family about twelve times since her cell phone was apparently disconnected. Hilda picked up on the eleventh ring, wondering where Betty was, and why she wasn’t with him, then nothing, until he called again, to which there was no reply and the deep-set anxiety that she had told them what a jackass he had been, along with the pregnancy thing, as well as his ill- timed sarcasm, which apparently was completely believable as the real thing.   
  
He wasn’t going to cry about it, or crawl to the bottom of a scotch bottle again, not with his family’s problem with alcoholism- especially with the new addition showing him that it was, in fact genetic, and not just his denial. He was going to calmly deal with this, like a sensible adult who didn’t need a constant baby sitter.   
  
Daniel switched on the television, sitting in front of it as he reclined against the couch. He was delightfully warm, but there was something wrong, he felt all stiff and uncomfortable. He remembered that night, after molly’s death. It was actually his first night after coming back from Tibet. He was so angry, but that was because he couldn’t do anything to help himself, or others, because he couldn’t help molly. But Betty had nursed him back to health, then saved him from the community of the phoenix- there was some part of Daniel that just felt weird remembering the memories.   
  
For some reason, he felt like the memories were underwater, he couldn’t remember the face Betty made when she was pleading for something, whether it be for him not to smash a pot on a glass table, or to ravish her for the fourth time (not that he needed any convincing) he couldn’t remember seeing her happy walk, or feel the fizziness in his blood when Betty kissed him. It was strange because he had seen her only hours earlier.  
  
Daniel must be drunker than he realised.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

Daniel looked around in astonishment, why was he lying on the incredibly luxurious sheets of his old bed, in his old loft. When he dared move his stiff neck he saw the image of the pin-up woman on the wall. Daniel cringed, he hoped he would never see that thing again, after the Renee incident he had had that painted over, since Betty had called the decorator and gave them specific instructions to.  
  
Wait, why was he in his old loft? He had sold it ages ago, after it was burnt down, so why was it intact. He thought about calling Betty, then remembered she was incredibly angry with him, because she thought he had cheated on her, when it was the other way around. Daniel was just willing to find out what was going on, but he was just happy that he would have a few hours to escape reality, and the sound of Hilda’s voice when Betty told her what he had said.  
  
Daniel got up, getting dressed in the designer suits that he recognised from two years ago, two years… that would put him around the time of… henry. Still, if he was going to enjoy this dream, he was going to enjoy spending some time with the real Betty. Suddenly, Daniel froze, glancing at himself in the mirror. Everything looked as it would have done a couple of years ago, but what he had just thought had disturbed him more.  
  
“the real Betty,” he sounded out, watching his lips move as he couldn’t quite believe they were saying those things. Did that mean his Betty wasn’t real, the woman who had cheated on him, then blamed him, the one that had surprised him by not knowing what was inside his head, like they were so used to doing? Most of the time they communicated without actually speaking, especially when they got into a relationship. One touch and he could instantly tell what she was thinking, just by the way she responded to his fingers lightly tracing over her skin.  
  
Then in the shower that morning, Betty was far more aggressive than she usually was. Sure, he had surprised him with some stuff, stuff he really hoped none of her ex-boyfriends had taught her, but she was still quite shy, timid. Not that morning, though, they hadn’t been active for a while, with the stress of her job, but that morning, it was like a totally different person in there.  
  
Daniel noticed his incredibly outdated phone was vibrating as he picked it up, not even bothering to look at the caller ID. He was somewhat startled with Betty’s cheery voice in his ear, he had really missed it.  
  
“rise and shine Daniel!”  
  
“hey, I’m up, I am just on my way to work now,” looking at himself in the mirror, he was surprised by how much things had changed over the course of two years, he really needed to start working out again.  
  
“do you remember I am not supposed to come into work today?” she asked, while Daniel felt a little incredulous. This was two years in the past, why would he remember that? There was a good chance, even two years ago, when he would have been expected to remember he probably wouldn’t.  
  
Glancing at the little clock with the date on it on his outdated phone Daniel remembered why. He gave Betty the day off for her birthday, which he forgot and upset her by parading his new relationship with Renee around. That wasn’t going to happen today, he was going to do something nice for Betty on her birthday, even if this was just a dream, induced by cheap beer and what he suspected wasn’t even Coca-Cola. He would do anything to have a little time with the Betty he once knew, because whether or not that was the real Betty he missed the old one.  
  
The sweet one who would look at ‘it’s so cute, it’s sick’ and got him hooked on the website, not that he would ever tell her that. The one who enjoyed dressing up like she had just rummaged through a garage sale and picked the cheapest items, because she honestly didn’t care what other’s thought of her.  
  
“yes, I do. Why are you calling me when it is your day off?” he asked, unable to keep the smile off his face at just the thought of hearing her voice. He knew henry would cancel, but she didn’t have to know that, he would just have to make the day amazing for her. If it ruined her perfect image of henry then so be it, only that wasn’t something that would be a ‘so be it’ moment. He was happy to do that.  
  
“tell me why I have the day off first?” she said, her voice full of suspicion.  
  
“happy birthday Betty,” he said softly, sitting down on his bed to pull on his shoes, as he pressed the phone into his ear with his shoulder. He remembered giving Ignacio his gift to give to Betty, because he knew that he would forget.  “oh, by the way. I gave your dad the gift I got you in advance because I thought I might forget,” he admitted, wondering if he could still tell that Betty was blushing just by her voice.  
  
“aww, Daniel.”  
  
“are you still at home?” Daniel asked, laughing because he knew Betty’s face was turning adorably red.  
  
“no, I am on the way to henry’s. I just wanted to know if you were up yet, because you still need to be checked on,” he could tell she was smiling through her braces.  
  
“okay, well if henry is busy come stop by the office, we can go out somewhere,” he suggested, knowing exactly why his heart was thudding so hard he was sure Betty could hear it too.  
  


“aww, Daniel. I would love that, but I am supposed to be gone all weekend with henry. Ooh, I’m there, I will call you back!” she said, the excitement in her voice evident.

  
Daniel got into the office, smiling at the people who were milling about it, even though he was dreading seeing Renee, just the thought of her made his blood run cold with fear, he didn’t want Betty to be hurt- especially since it was his fault that had happened. But, it was weird to see everyone, only a few years younger and that marc was still with cliff. They did make such a great couple, way better than marc and that Trevor guy (Daniel had never been good with names).  
  
He did get a few weird looks from people who weren’t used to him actually smiling, other than leering, and how many models have stopped staring at him over the years? This was really disconcerting, until he sat down at his desk, not being able to see people staring in was a good thing. Did he have something on his face or did people just really used to stare that much.  
  
Not as much as him when Betty walked into the room, she lit up everywhere even then, even though Betty looked completely dejected. Henry cancelled on her, because she turned up at his apartment and his ex was there. That was not good for anyone, especially on their birthday, so when she arrived he immediately went over to see her.  
  
“hey, what’s up? I thought you were supposed to be gone all weekend?” Daniel asked, turning around to see if Amanda was there, about to make some catty remark about him, but it appeared to be just them.  
  
“oh, well, henry’s ex, Charlie showed up, in town for the baby, so I need to find something else to do- but she will probably ruin that too,” she sorted through the files on her desk, looking as if she was about to cry. He felt his heart break a bit more, he didn’t want to watch Betty suffer, he did love her, even after all they had gone through the day before. He didn’t want Betty to feel miserable on her birthday, not a repeat on how blind he was.  
  
“why don’t I help you find out, but we can go out to lunch first,” he smiled at her, sitting on the edge of her desk as she looked momentarily surprised.  
  
“sure, if you want Daniel, what about Renee?” he froze, remembering the consequences from his brief but intense relationship with Renee.  
  
“no, I don’t. It is your birthday, and henry cancelled on you, so I think we should do something together,” he suggested, taking a shy glance at Betty. He had forgotten how much he missed her crazy clothes, although this outfit wasn’t the worst. She was wearing a belt, with colours that didn’t clash horrendously.  
  
“really?” she looked up at him with a massive smile on her face, as Daniel chuckled, he really missed Betty’s smile. That person definitely didn’t seem like his best friend, but this person was.  
  
“definitely, I want you to have a great birthday. I don’t think that you should be left out on your birthday,” he remembered henry didn’t even arrive because of her bedazzled phone, and its inability to get a signal.  
  
“thank you, Daniel, do you have any ideas? Amanda gave me the name of this restaurant, the Pemberley inn or something like that, but I don’t know what to do after,”  
  
“well I have a thing later with Renee, and there are coupons for activities, why don’t we have a look at them,”  
  
“can I have a look?” she asked, even though they were on her desk, Daniel looked through it, noting the one that he thought would be perfect for Betty, if he did that with Renee or any other woman, they would complain about the dirt, the cold night and how there are leaves on the ground. But a concert in the park with fireworks he knew he would enjoy, and so would Betty. She loved things like that, the more sentimental the better.  
  
“how about this?” he suggested, holding up the tickets for it. Betty grabbed it from him, her eyes lighting up as she practically jumped in his arms, hugging him tight. Although it was hard to keep his hands from inching down her back to touch her perfect ass he had missed the warmth of her hugs.  
  
“are you sure? It is a really cool opportunity,”  
  
“I know but I don’t think Renee would enjoy it. ‘Daniel what are we doing here?’ ‘Daniel, why are there leaves on the ground?’ ‘Daniel, why are we outside? My skin will burn because I am Satan’,” Daniel mocked Renee, much to Betty’s disparagement which became obvious when she spoke.  
  
“yeah, Renee is behind you,” Betty glanced around to see Renee standing behind them, Daniel felt like throwing himself in front of Betty to protect her, but he knew he had to act cool. Whatever this reality was, he was here and he didn’t want to make things worse for Betty by incurring the wrath of Wilhelmina’s psychotic sister. Especially because Renee had a murderous look on her face.  
  
“who are you talking about?” she asked, walking up to cling onto his arm, he tried not to flinch from her touch.  
  
“oh, just if Amanda was doing the same thing that Betty is doing with her boyfriend tonight,” he lied smoothly, knowing that calling Wilhelmina Satan's meaner sister would probably go down well, but he didnt think Renee would be so happy about it.  
  
“right, why do you know about that?”  
  
“because I woke Daniel up this morning to talk about it, he is really grumpy,” he couldn’t blame Betty because she wasn’t reliving a day of her past, but Daniel was and that is why he knew Betty saying that was one of the worst ideas someone had ever had.  
  
“why did you wake him up?” Renee looked between the two of them, while Daniel tried not to blush- which wouldn’t help the situation. “why was she in your bedroom?”  
  
“I wasn’t, I have to call him every morning otherwise he doesn’t wake up, and I am worried his sister will start killing people off if Daniel isn’t in.”  
  
“oh right. So, Daniel, are you still on for tonight?” she asked, holding the flowers, although at this point he remembered it as when Renee apologised for using him to annoy Wilhelmina.  
  
“I actually have to help my mom, Alexis cut her magazine, and she is going to be really upset. I am so sorry,” he apologised quickly, directing Renee into his office. She did apologise eventually, but only after she had nearly beaten him to death with the flowers because he wasn’t looking at her. It didn’t stop Daniel from staring at Betty though.  
  
Eventually, she did leave while Betty was still sitting at her desk, he may have taken Renee back, but that is only because he remembered doing so. But he was going to make sure Betty had a great day, making sure she was doted on by someone who really did appreciate her. She raised her eyebrows, looking shyly at him. “so, are we still on for lunch?” she asked, standing up. He smiled, Betty did look nice, although she could stand to lose the orange belt, when mixed with black and green it didn’t look so good.  
  
“you bet. Where would you like to go?” he asked, pulling her suitcase around to pull it along beside him.  
  
“I don’t know, what are you doing with my suitcase?”  
  
“either I carry this for you, or I carry _you_ ,” he said, pulling it behind him, as Betty followed him out of her little partition, she did stop him when they got outside the ladies, running into the toilet with the suitcase. Daniel looked confused, however he did stay outside the bathroom waiting for her to come out. Betty seemed happy enough, walking along-side him, and suggesting places to eat that he wouldn’t be caught dead in, although he did have an idea. Betty loved Thai food, but he knew her shameful secret that she actually preferred the take-out, instead of fancy restaurant food. Daniel wouldn’t even consider taking her out to that French place again, unless he wanted to spend $100 on snails that would end up on the sidewalk again.  
  
But, he did know she loved Italian food, maybe he could take her to a mock-posh Italian place, thank you hipsters! But as he waited for Betty Amanda strolled up to him, smirking and sashaying her hips. This is when she thought gene Simmons was her father, which was obviously not true, but she did enjoy her run, on reality TV.  
  
“hey…” she said, smiling and preening in an imaginary mirror, he wasn’t sure whether or not it was his face, or just Amanda’s fickleness.  
  
“hey Amanda, what is going on?”  
  
“didn’t you hear? Gene Simmons is my daddy!” she smiled her perfect smile and Daniel resisted the temptation to roll his eyes, maybe meeting Tyler was good for her, since he was a balancing force.  
  
“yeah, I heard,” Daniel couldn’t help being sarcastic, he didn’t know why Amanda chose to believe that, maybe it was the thing where you wanted something to be true so badly you believed an imposter was his girlfriend, or his girlfriend was an imposter.  
  
“anyway, I wanted to tell you about chalupa,”  
  
Daniel let out a sigh “don’t call her that, and what is going on?”  
  
“well, henry called and his baby mama got all preg-nasty and is apparently ‘sick’ so he cannot make it tonight, but I don’t think henry got through to Betty, he kept saying her phone didn’t work or something. I am only telling you because he asked me to, and so that I can have the day off? Ta, bye!” she flounced out of the room, a whirlwind in a _kiss_ t-shirt. Daniel rolled his eyes again, watching her retreat through the halls of MODE. Betty must have called henry when he was dealing with Renee.  
  
“o-kay.” He whistled, then knocked on the door of the ladies’ bathroom, hoping Betty would come out soon “hey, Betty are you finished?” he asked, knocking on the door again, he knew that she would be disappointed in what had happened with henry, but he would hopefully be able to make it up to her.  
  
She turned up at the door, in a floaty lilac dress that made him smile, she was so beautiful, with her fluffy hair and the floaty dress, which while being appropriately loose it did show her beautiful curves. He was probably staring a bit too much because next thing he knew Betty was tapping his cheek and asking him if he was in fact on earth.  
  
“hello? earth to Daniel? Do I have something on my dress?” she asked self-consciously, as she pulled the fabric of her dress away from her body.  
  
“no, no- you just look so beautiful.” he smiled at her as Betty turned a bright red with embarrassment.  
  
“thanks Daniel, so I called henry-,”  
  
“Amanda just got a call from henry saying he couldn’t come because Charlie is ‘sick’, so I am taking for you to the concert instead,” he said, wringing his hands because he was so nervous about telling her.  
  
“oh, are you sure you want to? don’t you want to spend time with your mom?” she asked, biting her lip in the way she didn’t know drove Daniel crazy.  
  
“no, I only made that up to get Renee off my back, come on, I would much rather spend your birthday with you,” he moved closer to hug her. Betty was obviously surprised, tensing against him, as she bit her lip in an extremely enticing manner.  
  
“are you sure, you don’t have to do this because you feel sorry for me,” she fell into step beside him as he continued to coax her out of the building.  
  
“believe me, Betty. I don’t feel sorry for you, I just want you to have a good birthday, please let me do this. It might even make up for all the times when I was a jack-ass to you,” he sighed, gently taking her tiny hand in his as he led the way.  
  
“okay, that is quite sweet. Can we drop off my suitcase at home, also your mom is really upset, I found her crying in the bathroom.”  
  
“I will talk to her later. Was it about _hot-flash_?” he asked, blinking anxiously at Betty. Even though his dreams were probably Betty related it didn’t mean he couldn’t take a chance to try and not be a jerk in this other reality.  
  
“yeah… Alexis cut it, she was really upset,”  
  
“Betty, we had to do that, there are loads of budget cuts as it is.”  
  
“okay, just talk to her later,” she looked at him sternly over the cab of the town car. Daniel nodded his head, exasperated, because Betty still hadn’t learnt how to let go of work, even if it was just for one day.  
  
“I will, now where do you want to go?” he asked, knowing Betty would be bashful, choosing something cheap, not something she would necessarily enjoy.  
  
“how about the little Italian place on the corner of that street with the pretty knick-knack shop?” Daniel knew where Betty was talking about, and he was surprised because she normally panicked about such things as the cost, seeing that he was still with her she continued “and I have saved up for a while, so I think I should be able to afford it,” she smiled at him, although Daniel wasn’t.  
  
“it is your birthday, there is no way are you paying. I am,” he smiled at her even though Betty frowned at him.  
  
“Daniel, you don’t need to do that.”  
  
“I am rich, it is your birthday, let me pay for it,” he grinned at her, reaching across the seat and clutching onto her hand. She blushed again, even a darker shade of magenta.  
  
“Daniel, you don’t have to, but, I was thinking. Instead of that place why don’t we go to the Pemberley inn? I am not going to get to do that tonight,”  
  
“okay, you are on, and I am paying for that too. It is your birthday, you deserve to be treated.” She gave him another one of her blinding smiles.  
  
“thank you Daniel!”  
  
“it is okay, come on Betty, you know you are my best friend, I need to treat you right,” her smile got even wider as she dared to sidle across the seat to sit even closer to him, Daniel was surprised. Was she flirting with him? Was this all it took for Betty to start hitting on him, not that she would ever admit it.  
  
“am I really your best friend?”  
  


“yes, the very best,” he sighed as she rested her head against his shoulder.

  
They got to the park in time for the concert, henry was still with Charlie, who turned out to be faking it- not that he was going to tell Betty that, because he wanted some more time with her. Ignacio had made them a picnic for the concert, with his amazing cupcakes with piped fireworks on them, Daniel was overjoyed. This was amazing, spending time with Betty, so much better than the night he remembered spending with Renee- even if that did end with hot sex- but it wasn’t like spending time with your best friend.  
  
She had been so happy the whole day, which he soaked up like sunshine. It just made him think that the Betty in the real world wasn’t the actual Betty. She didn’t have the same sense of being able to light up a room just by looking into it, instead he could only be able to tell (or think) it was her by her appearance.  
  
“wow, Daniel, the music is amazing,” she smiled at him as if he was orchestrating it himself.  
  
“are you okay?” you look a little chilly,” he wrapped her in his arms, amazing at how all of their boundaries had seemed to melt away when they were out together, but he wasn’t complaining, it was really nice having Betty resting practically in his lap while his arms were wrapped around her, trying to keep her warm, even though she was shivering.  
  
“no, I’m quite cold. Can I have your jacket?” she asked, burrowing into said jacket as she twisted on his lap. However, Daniel had something better.  
  
“sorry Betty, I need that,” she frowned up at him, confused.  
  
“but, I am cold,” she mumbled, but he was already reaching into the basket where Ignacio had also packed a blanket for them in case Betty got cold, which she was. He wrapped the blanket around her, watching as she giggled since Betty was so incredibly ticklish. He imagined knowing his children that well to know they would get cold, and to actually remember to do so.  
  
But then it dawned on him he may never be a father, because that wasn’t the real Betty. He didn’t know where the real Betty was and he was worried. He seriously doubted that the woman who he had slept with the day before was actually Betty, the pregnant one, the one who had her braces off at the Guggenheim, but if it was then he didn’t know whether or not the child was actually his. But he wasn’t in any hurry to wake up, he wanted to enjoy this moment with Betty.  
  
She was holding the blanket closer to her, looking around at other couples with blankets, he bet none of them also had delicious home-made quesadillas too. It was getting later, and he could tell Betty was exhausted because she had fallen asleep on him, as he took off her glasses. She was warming him up too, as he rested against her suitcase (she had forgotten to deliver it home) was now his back rest. Suddenly there was a loud explosion and colour streaked across the sky as Betty jolted from her slumber, reaching up and jumping again when she realised she was resting against his chest.  
  
“Daniel!” Betty said in surprise.  
  
“shh, look- fireworks!” he pointed to the sky where a rainbow of colours was exploding against the milky black sky, soon enough Betty fell asleep again, her silky hair resting adorably against his shoulder as she gently snoozed. But the night was coming to an end, with the other couples were starting to leave. Daniel gently shook Betty, trying to wake her up without annoying her too much. She eventually jolted awake again, but that was only when he had the common sense to call her name.  
  
“Daniel, why do I keep falling asleep on you?” she asked, stretching and ramming her glasses back on her face.  
  
“because you are exhausted, I only woke you up because I can’t carry you and the picnic basket,” she sleepily stretched again, her arms reaching to the sky as she yawned.  
  
“can’t you leave the picnic basket?” she yawned again, however got up and followed him to the town car, with Betty sleeping in his arms, Betty remained asleep when she got home, Daniel’s large hands supporting her weight as he wouldn’t dare drop her. They got in to see a bedecked hall and loads of party decorations, and… henry sleeping on the couch. Daniel spotted Ignacio, as he was carrying an exhausted Betty into the house, so exhausted in fact she was asleep.  
  
“Daniel?” he asked, wiping his hands on a tea towel as Daniel kicked the door shut behind him.  
  
“sorry, she fell asleep, I didn’t want to wake her up,” Daniel said, his voice quiet.  
  
“oh, he fell asleep waiting for her. I guess she didn’t get his call,” Daniel pretended to look confused, because the other part of the call Amanda took was probably saying how henry was waiting at Betty’s house for her to arrive for a party.  
  
“never mind, do you want to take her up to her room?” he asked, while Daniel nodded, hoisting Betty higher in his arms. He took Betty to her room, laying her on the bed, thinking she looked like a painting with her smooth skin and hair streaming out beside her head. She stirred slightly in her sleep as he took off her glasses, and slipped off her heels. He knew that the dress was floaty enough to keep on at night, he didn’t want to take it off. He knew Betty might pepper spray him if he did that (she had threatened to do that before when his hands got a little too friendly on the many occasions he was drunk) but she just turned over to mumble slightly in her sleep.  
  
Daniel felt a flood of emotion, he was overcome by the remarkable woman in front of him, thinking in reality he may never see her again, it felt worse than any injury he had. But he was sure the woman who was in the car yesterday was not his Betty, but instead someone else. He needed to find Betty, he would do even if his life depended on it. What else had occurred was that people might need convincing that it wasn’t actually Betty who was sleeping in her bed, but it made him terrified.  
  
“Betty,” he whispered keeping his voice low enough as to not wake her, “just remember I am always going to love you, no matter what- just don’t wonder about that, because I will follow you to the end of the earth, I promise,” he leant over to kiss her on the head, and left the room, promptly thanking Ignacio on his way out. What he didn’t notice was Betty’s eyes open slightly as she sat up, hearing every word he said.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

Daniel woke up, with a slight headache on his bed in molly’s old apartment, he was feeling sadly deflated, as the New York sky was grey and Betty was nowhere to be found in this reality, he wondered what was going to happen to the Daniel and Betty in the other one.  
  
He needed to get to Betty’s family, and tell them what was going on, or what he thought was going on. But he wasn’t ready for someone to not believe him so he needed to talk to his mother. He pulled his phone off of the nightstand, dialling his mother’s number before she picked up.  
  
“Daniel, what is wrong?” she asked, her intuition almost laughable.  
  
“mom, I know this sounds ridiculous- but I don’t think that is Betty,” he sighed looking at the phone in his hand, which he had put on loudspeaker, needing to get dressed.  
  
“pardon? Daniel, dear, this is coming from an alcoholic, but isn’t it a bit early to be drinking,” her dry humour for once felt out of place.  
  
“I am not drunk, but doesn’t it make sense?”  
  
“not really,” she still sounded sceptical.  
  
“you said something seemed off with her, something would be off if it wasn’t her,” Daniel argued, wishing his mother would have agreed with him more readily.  
  
“yes, like she was hiding something- not that she was another person,” Claire said irritably.  
  
“didn’t you think that at all, when we… it didn’t even feel the same,”  
  
“please don’t elaborate,” Claire sniped, he had obviously woken her up. But then his mother was silent for a moment, then she exhaled as if she had just had an epiphany. He knew that things were different, just having spent a fake 24 hours with Betty, who he could practically smell her lotion in the air, the imposter didn’t smell of her Walmart vanilla lotion, the imposter smelt of expensive perfume. A fleeting thought left him wondering whether or not it was because she used his mother’s perfume, but apparently, that just made Betty… excited instead of completely cold.  
  
“mom, do you remember her smell,”  
  
“forget whiskey, do I need to take you to the police station?” she asked, although her voice was softer.  
  
“mom, I am serious, you once asked her about her vanilla lotion,” Daniel remembered feeling disturbed by that because he didn’t want his mom to smell like his girlfriend, that was just creepy.  
  
“oh yes, when did she stop using that?”  
  
“about a month ago, then she started to use this really fancy perfume- I don’t like it much,” it was somewhat weird for the man with so many rich exes to find distasteful, he much preferred Betty’s old lotion, it was scented with vanilla, and reminded Daniel of all the sweet treats Betty was like. Her new perfume reminded him of all the sultry nights he had spent in his man whore days.  
  
“hmm, now that you mention it I did notice a difference,” his mother said, although her timing was a little bit suspicious.  
  
“are you just saying that to spare my feelings?” he asked, but his mother only laughed at that.  
  
“since when do I care about sparing your feelings?” she asked, sounding slightly patronising, Daniel rolled his eyes, pulling on his jeans and a tight fitting black shirt, he didn’t need to be bedecked in formal wear to find out what was going on with Betty.  
  
“good point, I am going to go and call her family now,” he said, pulling his sweater over his head as he finished getting dressed, and prepared to go outside.  
  
“Daniel, don’t ask them what you asked me, they will commit you,”  
  
“thanks mom, I will keep that in mind, call me if you hear anything,” he instructed as they hung up, before he pulled his phone towards him to call them. He didn’t know whether or not he should call Betty first or her family. If he called them first it might get quicker answers, but then there would be the question as to why he didn’t call Betty in the first place. He knew why he didn’t call her, and he wasn’t going to tell her family that. It was because he wasn’t going to call her and say ‘you aren’t the real Betty Suarez’ because it was ridiculous.  
  
What scared him more was that was the real Betty, and that she had turned into this woman he didn’t even recognise, although he wanted to make sure she was safe, he didn’t want to have to cope with a different type of loss, the type of loss that made him understand why his mother never left his father after all these years.  
  
She didn’t want to live her life without him, but she didn’t want to be without someone, even though it was horrible watching the person you loved the most in the world turn into someone you didn’t recognise, and someone you didn’t want to recognise because they were nothing and everything like the person you fell in love with.  
  
He decided to call Hilda in the end, because even if she was mad at him, she would still pick up the phone, even if it was to just yell at him. Instead the voice that replied sounded nothing like Hilda, instead it sounded like a completely different person, one subdued instead of sassy, miserable instead of confident.  
  
“Daniel, thank god!” she said into the phone, the relief in her voice evident.  
  
“hey, Hilda, what is going on?” he asked, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach.  
  
“I tried calling you, put you didn’t pick up,” she murmured into the phone, but he hadn’t heard anything, or even seen any missed calls when he opened it up to call his mother. On the screen were dozens of missed calls, all from the night before. Not one of those calls were from Betty.  
  
“sorry, my phone didn’t alert me,” Daniel wondered if it was his willingness to stay in dream land, instead of face reality that made him so… deaf to the calls.  
  
“oh, just I was wondering if she was with you?” Hilda asked, while Daniel wandered through the apartment, knowing full well Hilda was talking about Betty. But she was nowhere to be found.  
  
“no, I thought she was with you guys, that is why you didn’t respond to my text earlier.” Daniel argued, although he felt he wasn’t going to get the response he wanted.  
  
“no,” Hilda sounded as if she was in tears, “she hasn’t come home yet,” Daniel felt his heart drop practically out of his chest, fake Betty or not it was important that she was okay.  
  
“have you tried calling her?” he suggested, his heart thudding in his chest with fear.  
  
He saw a glimpse of the old Hilda in her answer “well, obviously, Daniel! was there something wrong between the two of you? did you get into an argument?” she asked. Daniel knew he had to tell her, someone’s safety may be at stake.  
  
“yes, she stormed off. I thought she was going to come home and tell you all about it, but she hasn’t.” Hilda sighed at that, not even trying to disguise that she was blaming him.  
  
“what was it about?”  
  
“well, she told me she cheated. I asked why, she wanted to know what it was like to do something like that, and I should stop being so sensitive. Then I got upset-,”  
  
“upset, or mad?”  
  
“madly upset,” he responded, knowing a clever answer would only dig him further into a hole with Hilda. “she blamed me, so I blamed her, because she cheated first. The closet I ever came to cheating was talking with my ex about whether or not she could date my half-brother,” Daniel said, the fear mingled with the misery mounting so he was essentially crying down the phone.  
  
“that is quite sad,” a flash of the old Hilda appeared again, but Daniel just continued to talk.  
  
“I know, and so I say, _sarcastically_ , that I did in fact cheat on her, however she didn’t think it was sarcastic,”  
  
There was a minute of silence, and the next words that he expected to hear over the phone would be about reintroducing his face to his ass, but apparently, Hilda sympathised with him because her next words were sympathetic.  “aye, Daniel, I remember when I was pregnant I was so paranoid, and moody, but it doesn’t give her the right to blame you for her cheating, especially when you have doted on her for the past four years. She has been acting really weirdly lately,” Hilda said, her tone pensive. Daniel thought this would be a good time to tell Hilda about the idea he had.  
  
“yeah, I think I know why,”  
  
“what are you talking about?” she asked. Daniel had always noticed it in Betty, when she was sceptical the Queens girl came out in her. With Hilda, it was always out, but more so when she was being cynical.  
  
“I don’t think that is Betty.” He breathed over the phone, expecting it when Hilda started to laugh.  
  
“okay, Daniel… because my sister would be gone for a month and no-one would realise,” she laughed, although Daniel could tell the lack of concern, or believing him was fake, since she highlighted that it could be a month. Right when ‘Betty’ had started to act strangely.  
  
“you did say a month Hilda, that is the amount of time I thought too,” he whispered into the phone. Hilda scoffed at him, although he could tell she was as equally terrified as he was.  
  
“Daniel, just because it was around the time she went on a diet and started to use that horrible perfume instead of her lotion, I just thought you had given it to her,”  
  
Now it was Daniel’s turn to scoff “no, I actually have good taste. But if it isn’t Betty, then where is our Betty?” Daniel couldn’t think of anyone who would do this, everyone loved Betty. She was one of the kindest, most genuine people he had ever met.  
  
“I don’t know, I mean who would hate my sister. The only person she got in a proper argument with- it was because of me!” Hilda sighed, exasperated, while Daniel stormed out of his house, only more determined.  
  


“I don’t know, Hilda, but we need to find the other Betty,” Daniel instructed, as he got into a cab headed for the Suarez home.

  
Hilda answered the door, looking wan and exhausted. They had probably been worried sick, and up all night, Daniel suddenly felt very selfish for having a wonderful night’s sleep, all because he was dreaming of Betty.  
  
“hey, come in. Papi is doing his nut, he refused to go to work today because he is so worried about her, thank God he doesn’t know about the pregnancy thing,” she trailed him inside, just enough to see Ignacio anxiously pacing in the kitchen, a phone glued to his ear.  
  
“you know this isn’t Betty, right?”  
  
“we don’t know anything, and this is why I need your help. Go, go!” she ushered him up the stairs and into Betty’s room, where there was a handbag lying on the floor.  
  
“why do you have Betty’s bag?” Daniel asked, skirting around it as if there was a bomb inside.  
  
“this isn’t Betty’s. She came home with it one day, it is this seasons Gucci, and she wouldn’t know that,” Hilda raised her eyebrows even further but that didn’t signify anything, Betty may be a little fashion challenged but she wasn’t that bad to not know one of the more famous makes.  
  
“Hilda, give your sister some credit,”  
  
“you are the one who suggested it in the first place!” Hilda hissed, squatting down in front of the bag. “anyway, it was just new this last week, and apparently really expensive,”  
  
“swag day isn’t until another month, where did she get this?” Daniel was shocked. He wouldn’t be if this was Amanda, Amanda was well known to use the closet as her own little boutique, where she didn’t have to pay for anything. But Betty would never do something like that, ever.  
  
“I don’t know, Betty barely has any money left. She had to give all her savings when we needed to buy our house,” Hilda was still crouching in front of the bad, it appeared by her skittishness she hadn’t even looked inside it yet. Daniel sat back on Betty’s bed, the new sheets were not little mermaid or any other Disney characters on it, instead it was just one colour.  
  
“why don’t you look inside then?” Daniel asked, peering at the bag. Hilda looked between him and the bag sitting innocently on the faded carpet.  
  
“because… I don’t want to invade her privacy,” Hilda came up with the lamest excuse ever since Daniel knew Hilda looked at Betty’s diary more than Betty did.  
  
“she is your sister,”  
  
“she is a stranger, not Betty.” Hilda argued, still skirting around the bag.  
  
“I thought you didn’t believe me?”  
  
“I don’t… but there is still a possibility. It just makes more sense,” she finally pulled the bag into her lap, unzipping it and examining the contents. Daniel watched over her shoulder, not wanting to be the one invading her privacy. He finally got a good look in the bag and gasped, in there it was just a lot of papers, and… passports.  
  
“passports?” Daniel breathed out, finally pulling the bag into his lap. He took the passport from the side pocket that Hilda hadn’t noticed examining it quickly.  
  
The image looked like Betty, almost identical to her passport image. He couldn’t tell if the woman had braces on in that picture, but it did look so much like Betty he gasped. He looked at the name, she wasn’t from Mexico, she was a united states citizen, although it said her nationality said she was from El Salvador. Daniel had no idea where that was, but he looked at the name next: Elizabeth Torres.  
  
“it’s not Betty,” Daniel said, moving to show Hilda the passport.  
  
“well her name is Betty, well, it could be.” Hilda argued, sucking in her teeth, but looking completely miserable.  
  
“I know. It is really weird, especially since she has just vanished. What is going on Hilda?” he asked. He wondered if she had wanted to take over Betty’s life, maybe it was one of his spurned lovers that wanted to make him miserable, or someone spying for some reason probably related to Wilhelmina. He couldn’t imagine anyone being against Betty or the Suarez family, especially since they were the kindest people he had ever met.  
  
“I think someone has kidnapped Betty, and replaced her so we wouldn’t miss her,” Daniel spun around, thinking that sounded ridiculous, and totally unbelievable, which in the world of MODE was generally the truth.  
  
“erm, what?”  
  
Hilda shrugged, picking through the bags contents again. “I saw it on one of Papi’s telenovelas.” She peered closer at the papers, which first appeared to unordered scraps, but they weren’t. They were lists of their movements. One for Ignacio, Justin, Hilda and him. Daniel’s head spun, picking up another sheet of paper, which had a different list on it. just a list of adjectives, random ones that didn’t describe a person he knew, but maybe the person Betty had become.  
  
“Hilda, look at this?” he passed the paper over to her, as she was too busy goggling over the papers tracking their movements.  
  
“what is it? Is it creepier than this?” she gestured to the paper in her lap with disdain.  
  
“no, it is just strange,” he passed it over to her, as a shadow of confusion passed over her face.  
  
“what is this? a list of adjectives?”  
  
“I think she was told to be Betty.” Daniel said, recognising some of these adjectives as only a certain type of person would know. The type of person who had been in a romantic relationship with Betty Suarez. The adjectives didn’t really reflect how he saw Betty, apart from some certain ones: humble, bossy, adorable, workaholic, easily excitable. But the others stumped him: bitchy, sexy, controlling, accustomed to luxury. Betty was sexy, but no-one in the general public would view her like that. She was underconfident, shy and wasn’t very good at flaunting herself. This list was made by someone who knew her.  
  
“why? Wouldn’t she make this up?” Hilda pulled the list closer, as if more writing explaining the whole situation would suddenly appear like magic.  
  
“they wouldn’t know about Betty’s personalities unless she had slept with her,” Hilda pulled a face at that, and Daniel cleared his throat before continuing, feeling uncomfortable.  
  
“okay, but if this woman is pregnant, why is she doing this?”  
  
“I don’t think she is actually pregnant,” Daniel argued, although he had heard the fake Betty being sick, as well as having all the other symptoms of pregnancy.  
  
“no, she is. The woman didn’t even know what I was talking about when I held the stick up, it was definitely my one that she used.”  
  
Daniel sighed, realising they were only marginally closer to finding Betty than when he had first arrived at the Suarez home “why does it matter?” he asked irritably, but Hilda wasn’t rebuffed and simply gave him the famous judge-y look that he had seen so often on Betty’s face.  
  
“if she is pregnant, she might be more likely to talk because she is scared that whoever is employing her will find out.” Hilda said, looking slightly indignant “haven’t you ever watched a telenovela before? this is like basic stuff!”  
  
“no, funnily enough I don’t,” Daniel said in a very sarcastic tone, but he decided not to look at Hilda, in fear of being glared to death.  
  
“I don’t think that kind of attitude is helpful, but what are we going to do about Papi finding out?” Hilda asked, still rifling through the bag. It was obvious that it wasn’t Betty’s bag, which was somewhat of a problem since neither of them knew where to start looking for their Betty.  
  
“isn’t he on the phone to someone, doesn’t he think Betty is just out,” sometimes he knew that he knew a lot about Betty, much more than the average friend should know, but there were times when he got stumped by her personality, usually because hope trumped his need to be rational.  
“Betty doesn’t just go out, of course everyone is freaking out. He is currently on the phone to the police.” Daniel shot his head up, a sense of hope filling him after all. Maybe the police could find the real Betty, making sure she was okay and not dead.  
  
“Hilda!” suddenly Ignacio shouted up the stairs as Hilda motioned for Daniel to stay there as she walked back out into the landing.  
  
“what is it Papi?”  
  
“they found Betty, she was apparently trying to get on a bus, but she fainted. She is at our local hospital, let’s go!” he called, as Daniel froze, which Betty was it? was it the one everyone thought was the real Betty, or the actual Betty?  
  
“Papi! Wait!” Hilda ducked back into Betty’s room, getting Daniel to drop the bag and then dragging him back into the hallway, where Ignacio stared at him.  
  
“Daniel, what are you doing here?”  
  
“I, erm… I came to see if Betty was here, she wasn’t picking up. Hilda told me to come up here since she wanted to see if Betty would come back if I were here,” he lied smoothly, ignoring the death glare from Hilda.  
  
“okay, do you want to come too?” Daniel nodded, following Hilda down the stairs as he knew, real or not he needed to see Betty.  
  
He spent the entire ride in bobby’s car with his head in the clouds, as Justin was squashed between him and Hilda. He couldn’t think of any openers that would reveal the truth, because he didn’t want Ignacio to find out. The man already has had one heart attack, he didn’t need another one. But, he didn’t want to dig himself further into the lie that was slowly unfolding if it meant he wouldn’t find his Betty. Hilda was looking as equally panicked, not even her new fiancée was enough to distract her from the worry they were both feeling.  
  
When they parked at the hospital Ignacio, Justin, and bobby all raced to go and see Betty, but Hilda held Daniel back, pulling him into a somewhat secluded alcove a few meters away from the entrance.  
  
“we need a plan,”  
  
“what?” now Daniel was in too much of a panic, even though it was highly unlikely he was hoping that Betty was the one in the hotel room, and not this intruder. Ignacio didn’t share any more details about where she was found, but he knew that if his Betty had been kidnapped then she would go immediately to see her family, and quite possibly him. She would not be bussing off around wherever without so much as a goodbye.  
“we need a plan, because if that isn’t her, and I doubt it- we need a way to find the information, even if she doesn’t know anything. Although, I think if Papi finds out she is pregnant we are going to have a lot more explaining to do, and by we- I mean you,” Hilda said, looking disapproving. Daniel had a sudden thought, that was far more terrifying than Ignacio’s wrath for getting his daughter pregnant. “Daniel, are you okay, you look as if you are about to faint?” Hilda asked, looking concerned.  
  
“Hilda, what if she is actually pregnant?” Hilda looked slightly confused.  
  
“who? The fake Betty, or the real one, because if the real one is pregnant I think you will actually be killed,” Hilda said raising her eyebrows, but it didn’t stop Daniel from looking even paler, and sliding down the wall to collapse on the ground.  
  
“no, the fake one,”  
  
Hilda furrowed her brow, offering her hand to help him up, but Daniel made no attempt to move whatsoever, or even look up at her. “I thought we already established that she was? And she has just fainted, she is pregnant,” Hilda said, while Daniel honestly looked as if he was suffering PTSD or something.  
  
“Hilda, please don’t hit me… but I honestly thought she was Betty, so I slept with her. What if the baby is mine?” he finally muttered, under his breath but Hilda could still hear, not that she really wanted to, but still… this was major if it was. Betty would never forgive him, he had gotten another woman pregnant, although she had slept with someone else… so, there was still a slight chance.  
  
“I am not going to hit you, but Betty is going to kill you,” she said, looking quite shocked. Daniel felt his heart drop, what if Betty never forgave him for this- it would be terrible, although he doesn’t know if it was intentional cheating when the person looks identical to your partner, and is pretending to be your partner.  
  
“I know, what am I going to do!” he was almost sobbing at this point. Soon enough Daniel felt Hilda’s palm collide with his face as he slapped him. Only this time she said it was to slap some sense into him.  
  
“you are going to get up, and not mention it to my father. He might know if she is pregnant since the doctor would have told them, but you only talk to her when he is gone. She might have been pregnant before she even started to… pretend to be Betty.” Hilda hissed, practically dragging him upright and out of the room.  
  
They got to the foot of the hospital bed, and Daniel was guessing Ignacio knew about the pregnancy because he looked as if he was about to murder him as Daniel walked into the room. Hilda, however was more than happy to play the fool and sauntered up to her father looking worried.  
  
“Papi is she okay?” Hilda asked, trying to peer around the curtain, but Ignacio knew his daughters well enough and frowned at Hilda.  
  
“when did you know?” he asked, but Hilda took a big step back in her ridiculous platforms feigning offence.  
  
“when did I know what? When she came to the hospital, you were the one who told me,” Hilda said, her voice already raising, causing several nurses to stare in bemusement. Daniel felt like sinking through the floor, or out of the door.  
  
“that your sister is pregnant?” Ignacio asked, saying it to Hilda but looking at Daniel.  
  
“well, I gave her the test a while ago, she hasn’t told me yet,” Hilda was so good at playing the fool that Daniel knew he had to man up.  
  
“I did know, we just didn’t know when we were going to tell you,” Daniel breathed out, hoping Ignacio didn’t have a gun at home. Ignacio stared at Daniel, again a look that made him feel as if he was going to sink through the floor in fear, especially when the older man started to advance on him.  
  
“really? Then, I have to ask: what are your intentions towards my daughter?” he asked, and Daniel had to answer in a way Ignacio would actually believe him, because it was different trying to convince someone of something when they weren’t expecting anything to be different to how it normally is. To a lot of people, he was just an irritating playboy who had stolen Ignacio’s daughter away. But Daniel had to pretend that he was talking about the Betty he, Ignacio and the rest of her family had known to grow and love.  
  
“well, we didn’t plan for the baby, but I couldn’t love anyone more, and I am sure I will feel the same way about my child. I will do everything I can to show Betty how much I love her and I hope you will let me,” Daniel said humbly, as Hilda twitched the curtain, nervous with anticipation.  
  
“okay, I am going down with Justin and bobby, Justin is supposed to be in school, we did so much to get him into that fancy acting school I don’t want him to drop out,” he patted Daniel on the shoulder. Daniel breathed out an immense sigh of relief as he got into the room where the fake Betty was sitting upright, looking as if she was going to cry. It was so sudden the change in Daniel’s personality because as he really looked he felt disgusted with himself for not being able to realise it wasn’t Betty.  
  
“hey,” she weakly said, but Daniel couldn’t get mad because she looked so weak.  
  
“what happened? Is the baby okay?” he asked, trying to ignore Hilda looking as if he was completely insane.  
  
“the baby is fine, I fainted because I had low blood sugar and I need to rest. I am so sorry Daniel, I shouldn’t have tried to do that because of one stupid argument.” She sobbed, actually crying now.  
  
“save it lady!” the fake Betty tried to look confused, but he could see the fear under her expression.  
  
“what?” she asked, the tears still flowing down her face, so like his Betty’s.  
  
“we know you aren’t our Betty.”  
  
“what the hell are you talking about?” she asked. For a moment, Daniel panicked, wondering if he was wrong about this, even though his mother and Hilda were suspicious, but then he saw the fleeting flash of recognition and fear in her features.  
  
“we found your bag, and your passport… Miss. Torres.” Hilda said, miraculously pulling the passport from somewhere on her person and throwing it on top of the hospital blanket.  
  
“oh,” was all she said, looking even more miserable as she glanced up at the two of them. Then she looked at her stomach, gently tracing the outline of it. “you are right, I am not her. But this baby might be yours,” she looked directly at Daniel, who felt the ground fall out from under him.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty

Betty sat up amongst the sheets, her head throbbing as well as her stomach. He wouldn’t even care or notice when she got up in the morning to throw up. It was a shame because for all the luxury there wasn’t much love. He said he loved her, but the only thing that kept playing in Betty’s mind was along the lines of ‘if you love someone you will let them go’ this was the opposite.   
  
Once upon a time, maybe. But not know, because it was just bitter jealousy, and revenge. Revenge was leaving a flaming bag on someone’s doorstep, or breaking their plasma TV, revenge never needed to be as extravagant as that. But, of course it was because the type of people Betty knew never did anything by halves. But he could at least be nice about it, they didn’t have to keep her on a schedule stricter than a prison routine, they didn’t have to completely disregard her needs, or anything else she wanted.  
  
She tossed on the sheets, her mind filled of Daniel, her dreams were only filled of him, where she practically relayed every moment they had shared together in her head. She missed his voice, the deep tones that could make her melt into a puddle, and just the mere memory of his bright blue eyes. She wondered if he remembered her since she had no recollection of when she arrived and how long ago it was.  
  
She wondered for her family, and if anyone was out looking for her. She thought about whether or not they would miss her at MODE, because her family and Daniel most of all would all be in a panic if she wasn’t there by a certain time. Daniel called her, panicking when she didn’t turn up for work, but she didn’t know where her phone was now.  
  
Betty still remembered the day when she was taken, it wasn’t all that dramatic, there was no struggle and the dragging of her body off somewhere. She had chosen to go, not knowing what she was in for.  
  
She was just coming in to pick Justin up, since Hilda and bobby were somewhere, off being newly engaged. She wasn’t surprised when a new arty type turned up to speak for the class, they were always getting new people to come and do stuff like that. Once upon a time Betty would have been attracted to the handsome speaker at the front of the class, but she was ever so slightly preoccupied with thinking about Daniel, and what sort of surprise he would have in store for her when she got home. He was delighted to realise that she had no problem introducing food into their lovemaking.  
  
She was surprised however when the arty type came over to talk to her after the class, even asking her out for a drink. She shook her head, surprised to be paid attention to, and surprised to have her thoughts derailed from Daniel. But she did get his business card, thinking about doing a story on him, she just wouldn’t mention to Daniel that he asked her out, especially since she had no intention of acting upon it.   
  
But coming home she bumped into someone she didn’t think she would meet again, especially because she didn’t recognise them when they accidentally bumped into her, spilling the groceries. She had gone shopping after Justin decided to go and see some friends after school, and she hadn’t been back to her apartment in a while so she needed to stock up on shopping. Then she had bumped into _him_.   
  
And it was weird and unexpected, but she didn’t want to be rude so she went along with it. It had been normal, what she would have expected from an impromptu reunion, no sudden revelations or declarations, just it was. And then she didn’t feel so good, but that wasn’t news, she hadn’t been feeling so good for a while, so when she fainted in their arms she didn’t think much of it, only how she was going to explain the fainting to Daniel, and whether or not she should cook him lunch.   
  
So far, it hadn’t been traumatic. She was living in luxury, only for a price of expectance, she was expected to love someone she wasn’t sure it was possible with, expected to marry that person, and bore onto them a child. Expected to live out her life without ever getting her dream. It wasn’t fair, and she missed everyone, not to mention the swarm of butterflies she felt in her stomach every time she heard Daniel’s name. Betty had fought, and thought of making elaborate escape plans, but she didn't feel well enough to fight back, and could only think of the consequences if it didn't go so well.   
  
Luckily, she had been able to prevent some things, lying through her braces to say that she didn’t want to have sex, she was saving herself for marriage, a marriage she hoped would never come.   
  


There were nights where she hated Daniel, she hated him for not finding her because there were nights she was sure no one wanted her. No one cared because no one had tried to find her. She had only heard what he had to say about the outside world, such as how Daniel had cheated on her a lot, which she didn’t believe, personally. Because that was one of her worst nightmares.

 

  
Hilda watched as Daniel sat up, lying on a hospital bed just down the corridor. She was well aware that her expression wasn’t the most welcoming to someone who had just woken up from fainting, not that Daniel would admit he fainted. Still, Hilda wasn’t worried about making Daniel sound as if he was manly, he had more manicures than Justin, and Justin wouldn’t dream of calling himself macho. When someone tried to call him that- her, but she meant it as a compliment, his response was ‘ew, I would rather have spots than be called that!’ probably because it was her and she was trying to boost his confidence about something.   
  
She sometimes did worry about Justin, not being like the other children, but more than not she was happy with her boy. He may be high-maintenance with the number of grooming products he used, but he was a good kid. She needn’t worry about him, especially with bobby. Justin had a father figure in bobby who didn’t push him into doing somethings he didn’t need to do, Hilda already had one bad-boy in the family, she didn’t need another one.   
  
“Hilda, please stop frowning,” he put his hand softly to his head, as if it was causing him great pain. He didn’t even hit his head, because he fainted onto a chair. They had left the fake Betty to rest for a moment, before they continued to question her. Hilda was the one who needed to formulate the plan, because Daniel was useless, and her Papi didn’t know, while Justin was too young, and bobby wasn’t the one who had seen the rollercoaster that was Daniel Meade and Betty Suarez.  
  
“I am frowning because another woman who isn’t my sister is pregnant, possibly with your child,” she said, her tone flat and unforgiving. She didn’t want to be mad at Daniel, but she needed something to let out her anger, or _someone_.  She was angry because she hadn’t even been able to tell that the woman in that hospital room wasn’t her sister. She hadn’t been able to know despite living with her, despite knowing Betty all her life. Despite that Betty looked like their mother.  
  
What would their mother think of her? It was bad enough she had come home pregnant when Mami was sick, and having to hide it, only her kid sister knowing when she was really too young to have any kind of burden on her small shoulders. But, now, no-one knew where Betty was, because everyone else thought that Betty was lying in that hospital bed, pregnant with the baby of her boyfriend. Her situation was much more complicated.  
  
“I didn’t know it wasn’t Betty. Nor did you, I had to tell you!” Daniel frowned, sitting up as he was still glaring at Hilda.   
  
“well, it isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. I just want that woman out of our lives and to get Betty back,” Hilda sighed.   
  
“I know, but that could be my baby,”  
  
“it could also be the baby of a famous playwright.” Hilda said, wanting to be realistic. Betty was the dreamer, with her fancy job at MODE, and her rich boyfriend(s) but Hilda preferred to be more realistic. She knew she wouldn’t be able to work in a salon, she knew she would never bag a wall street boyfriend, she never expected herself to excel, but she did of Justin and Betty. They were dreamers, they could achieve.  
  
“I know, but I don’t think the timing is right. She looked relieved when I said I noticed her getting bigger earlier, although it just might be the fake Betty,” Daniel mused, swinging out of bed to talk to Hilda. He stuffed his feet in his shoes, the kind of shoes that Justin would only dream about, as well as the suit-jacket that was far too ridiculous for a hospital visit.  
  
“so, is she fatter than my sister?” Hilda asked, folding her arms over her own flat stomach.   
  
“Hilda, Betty- the real one, isn’t fat. But, she is bigger,” Hilda nodded, knowing Daniel would do anything to help her sister, as well as love her to the ends of the earth.  
  
“okay, okay. But didn’t the doctor say?”  
  
“I was with you, and I was the one that missed out on anything, by fainting,” he said, slightly wobbly as he stood up to walk out of the room. Hilda followed him, making sure he wasn’t about to top over on the way out of the room.  
  
“fine, we need to ask for an ultrasound!” she said, following Daniel back into the room. The fake Betty looked panicked as they stepped back in as a doctor was just doing the ultrasound. Hilda watched as they examined the slightly swollen belly of the woman pretending to be her sister, she could see the blurry image of a baby imprinted on the screen, reminding her of the baby she had so recently lost. That fact made very real tears spring to her eyes as she looked into the eyes of the woman on the bed.   
  
Daniel was right, she couldn’t see her sister in this woman, and it only made her feel worse, because this woman hadn’t been through her own problems, her sister hadn’t had to cope with something that no one wanted but she missed every day.  
  
“so, Miss. Suarez your baby appears to be perfectly healthy.” The woman looked up at the doctor, her face expressionless but the resting expression was kind.  
  
“how far along am I?” she asked, her hands drifting subconsciously to her stomach, but daring backwards as she remembered the doctor was there.  
  
“about three weeks,” he took off his gloves nodding at Hilda and Daniel as he wiped her stomach clean of the gel that was on it.  “do you have any other questions?” he asked. The woman shook her head.   
  
“no thank you, doctor,” she said, still watching as Daniel and Hilda crowded around the bed. When the doctor left, she looked up at them, the expression on her face unreadable, especially because she wasn’t their Betty.  
  
“so, I am guessing it is mine, or did you sleep with anyone else before you went on this… mission?” she shook her head, still not speaking because although there was plenty to say, but she couldn’t seem to find any, maybe because she knew that they were aware of the truth.  
  
“no that would be impossible. Only him, and that playwright. That was only last week, though,” she admitted ashamed. Daniel put his head in his hands, sighing.  
  
“Betty, the real Betty is going to kill me,” he sighed again, not looking around the room. Hilda had to be the one to speak up.  
  
“so, lady what is your name?” Hilda asked, leaning against the metal slats at the side of the bed.  
  
“Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Ella, I am so sorry,” Hilda cut her off by waving a finger in her face.   
  
“nuh-uh!” she looked down at the small frightened woman and felt sorry for her, she obviously didn’t chose this. “why did you do this?”  
  
“pretend to be your sister?”   
  
“yes,”  
  
“I have dreams too,”  
  
Daniel interrupted “to ruin someone’s life by pretending to be someone else?” he butted in, sounding very angry. Hilda didn’t particularly like this woman, mainly because she wasn’t her sister, and Hilda had a feeling none of this was going to end well, but she couldn’t have Daniel traumatise the poor woman, especially when this woman was carrying his baby. Hilda knew what to do. You got good at understanding other people’s problems when you were a hairdresser, even if it was just a simple case of having a husband that wasn’t that faithful, or a gossiping best friend.   
  
Right now, Daniel wasn’t helping anyone, he was too angry. She was angry too, but it was obvious this woman didn’t do this for her own personal gain, especially since she was now in frightened tears. “Daniel, get out. Go and find my dad, and stay with him. If he wants to shoot you I don’t think I am going to have a problem with it.” Hilda instructed, grabbing a hold of his arm from across the bed and practically dragging him out of the curtained partition.  
  
“what?” Daniel wriggled out of her grasp “why should I go out? I was the one who realised this!”  
  
“but you are also the one frightening this poor woman! She didn’t ask to do this,” she instructed, listening to any signs of movement from behind the curtain.  
  
“how do you know that?”   
  
“because you made her cry. She has done something wrong, but she didn’t take Betty away herself, okay? Let me talk to her,” Hilda watched as Daniel paced up and down the corridor, straightening his jacket, then nodded at her before marching off.   
  
When she got back into the room, the woman had stopped crying, wiping her eyes instead and trying to get out of bed. Hilda held her back, pushing her down into the bed. “you aren’t going anywhere!” she said, frowning at the woman who bit her lip, blinking anxiously at her.  
“I need to get home, I don’t want to stay here,” she argued, but remained in the bed.  
  
“I know, but you have a lot of explaining to do, and until we find the real Betty you aren’t going to go anywhere,”   
  
“I don’t see why you would want to keep me here, you all hate me,” she sobbed, trying to curl up into a ball but her hand flew to her stomach.  
  
“Daniel does, he yelled at me,”  
  
“that doesn’t matter. Only me and Daniel actually know,” Hilda found it strange as the woman was still using their names, although Hilda felt as if she was meeting a stranger for the first time.  
  
“why haven’t you told anyone else, it will be pretty weird when I go back home,” she argued, leaning out of the bed again.  
  
“Papi has a heart condition, he had a heart attack a year ago, I don’t want him to worry. I have recently lost my own baby and Daniel is a good family friend, if this is his baby you are going to need to stay around okay?” the woman was crying again, sobbing sorry punctuated by tears.  
  
“I didn’t mean to do this, but I just had a new job, and it cost so much,” she said, blinking back more tears. “my own Mami is sick, and all the money is going to her. Then I met this guy, and he said I had to do a social test, I thought it would be like a quiz or something because he said he belonged to this university. But, it was this, I wasn’t told too far in advance, but when I tried to say no he showed me how the legal documents said that I had to complete it, otherwise my mother’s treatment would be terminated. Even if we tried to pay for it,”  
  
Hilda listened, her heart going out to this young woman, expecting a questionnaire, leaving with a baby of a man she only met a month before. It was heart-breaking. “so, were you paid?”  
  
“it is covering all of her medical expenses, she has cancer, and there is only a slim chance of getting better. My father died many years earlier, so it is only me and my brother to fund it,” she said. Hilda didn’t know what to believe because this woman was so like Betty, sick mother, plenty of ambitions. Some cynical part of Hilda didn’t believe her, especially because she had spoken about Mami during this woman’s stay.   
  
“are you telling the truth?” Hilda asked, her voice too quiet. The woman looked offended for a moment, but then her expression turned to one of understanding. Of course, Hilda would ask that, especially with the amount of coincidences that went on.   
  
“yes, I did bring my diary with me. It is in that bag, it was all about my other life, please believe me?” Hilda, while she may not have been school-smart, she was street-smart. That meant she had the great ability to know when someone was lying, and she didn't think this woman was.  
  
“okay, but you need to help me find my sister. Deal? You stay at our house, as we will look after you, you can go back when we find my sister. If you want I will get some of my friends to rob the rich guy to pay for your mom?” Hilda asked, thinking of all the people who would love to do her a favour.   
  
“okay, deal!” she held her hand out for Hilda to shake as Hilda did, nodding along with the woman. They would need to get more information out of her about Betty’s whereabouts, but Hilda was well aware that she might not know everything.  
  
“do you remember anything about the person you met?”  
  
“I didn’t meet with him, I spoke to him on the phone. It was definitely a man, all I did was sign a form, I didn’t bother to read it. That was my mistake, and then some notes came in the post. When I tried to back out, I called him, the threat went unheeded.” She sighed, pulling herself out of the bed and trying to stand up with the support of Hilda, who was having a sudden epiphany.  
  
“do you still have the envelope?” it could still have the return address on it, if the person wasn’t all that smart. Hilda wasn’t sure, because apparently, Ella didn’t have a clue as to why she was replacing someone, she was just told things to do.  
  
“no, sorry.” She shook her head sadly, while she got up from the bed. Well, at least they weren’t at square one anymore.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty

She settled back into Betty’s life, not replacing her, but only a few people knew of who she really was. At least she could call her family somewhat freely. They thought she was away on a business trip, to which Daniel tried to play his part and pretended to be her boss when her brother got annoyed she wasn’t home yet. They could take her home, and had done, not telling her poor mother that she was pregnant. The woman didn’t need anything more to worry about.  
  
Daniel wasn’t the keenest on her, since she was an imposter, and since he had technically cheated on Betty with her. Daniel had a feeling that Betty wouldn’t care whether or not she was practically identical to her. He felt bad about it, even though without doing so they would have never uncovered the mystery, or wouldn’t have done so until it was too late.  
  
They were closer than ever to finding Betty, but it was difficult, not only because they had so little knowledge but because they couldn’t tell too many people. They didn’t want to run the risk of upsetting or panicking Ignacio, or giving it away that they knew it wasn’t Betty, so Ella’s mother could continue treatment. Also, Ella was carrying his baby, whether or not she was the love of his life, he still had a responsibility to look after her.   
  
She was still acting as Betty, which wasn’t that hard. She was too busy focusing on the list to really act like Betty, but after a little prepping from Daniel and Hilda she really was indistinguishable from the real Betty, except to those who really knew her. She wasn’t a horrible person, just terrified, and convinced that she needed to act like the ‘bitchy’ part of the list.   
  
They had begun to look at all the different aspects of the phone call, but since Ella hadn’t been told anything more about it, and didn’t have the legal document she signed (Daniel wasn’t best pleased that she didn’t read it) then they needed someone who was good with computers to find who was calling, and from where. They could go down to the IT department at Meade, but everyone in that building was a massive gossip so they didn’t dare, his mother was working on it though.   
  
Every week Ella had to take a call from whoever to make sure she was still doing her job. The allocated time for the call explained times when Ella was pretending to be Betty and kept on mysteriously ducking out of the room. Daniel felt like shouting through the phone at the person to ask where Betty was, but it would pose a risk to all of them. The goal was for Ella to be as horrible as possible to make Daniel either cheat on what he thought was Betty and then break up with her. There was no news on whether or not they were going to get their Betty back, so it was becoming urgent that they were to do something.   
  
Daniel was sitting at the Suarez kitchen table, they were not supposed to talk about it in the Suarez house in case anyone else found out. Hilda wanted her actual sister at the wedding, so had been strategically dragging her heels on sorting out the aspects of her wedding. Bobby hadn’t seemed to notice, as long as he got his bachelor party. Daniel still had to go to London for MODE, but was going to ask to send marc and Amanda there, since he was not going out of the country if Betty wasn’t by his side.  
  
It was now early spring but still really cold which is why the heating was turned up to full, curtesy of Ignacio before he left the house.   
“hey,” Ella said, coming up and sitting opposite him holding a glass of ginger ale in her hands. The morning sickness had begun and she was suffering terribly, but she had also bought some new maternity clothes using his credit card. Even just a single act like this was enough to make him feel guilty, but it was his child in there. Well, he wouldn’t exactly know until they did a paternity test, which was scheduled for the next week.   
  
“hey, have you done the call?” she had begun calling more frequently, giving ‘updates’ which were lies she, Daniel and Hilda had come up to strategically throw whoever off their trail. There was more to stake than just her mother, something else the mysterious voice reminded her, as if they couldn’t complete it the life of the actual Betty would be in danger too. The word they used was ‘termination’ so Daniel wasn’t going to risk taking that chance. What was even worse was that they were using a voice changer, but they couldn’t go to the police since they were determined to solve it on their own.  
  
“yeah, I recorded it.”  
  
“good, can I listen?” it was safe to do this because Ignacio was out with a few friends and Hilda was with bobby and Justin, house hunting. Another thing they had to keep under wraps for the time being.  
  
The crackly metallic tone of the stranger joined the fresh air that had swarmed into the room. “hello, Ella,” even through the voice change app it sounded cold, unforgiving.  
  
“hello?” Ella’s own voice sounded unsteady as if she was trying to talk through tears.  
  
“have you done it yet?”  
  
“no, I haven’t broken up with him. I am not sure if he is cheating on me?”  
  
“didn’t you have evidence last time we spoke?” Ella’s voice quivered again as he spoke harshly.  
  
“it was inconclusive, I am sorry.”  
  
“try harder, and remember- Betty Suarez must disappear. Have they twigged onto you yet?”   
  
He heard the sound of Ella gulping as she told the biggest lie of all “no, they haven’t.”  
  
“I thought they might have- you aren’t the same underneath I don’t think.” Daniel frowned a minute, looking between Ella and her smart phone which was lying between them on the table. He was slightly confused by what the person meant by that- her personality? Underneath what?  
  
“what did you do to her?” beside him Ella flinched, she had nearly given away her cover of being meek and not caring.  
  
“nothing, she wants to wait. I wish I could have said the same for you.” the voice spat out, frustration evident. Ella obviously knew what underneath meant.  
  
“they were already sleeping together, it would look weird to stop.” The voice paused for a moment.   
  
“then why won’t she with me?” the voice seemed vulnerable, not harsh like it was a moment ago, Daniel froze, having more clues rush into his head. This person sounded like they had slept with her, knowing they wouldn’t be the same underneath, even though that was probably a universal observation.  
  
“I don’t have an idea, I am only doing this to make my mother better.” She said, then he heard the disconnect of the line. Daniel sighed, he had a new lead. Neurotic about Betty- check. Possibly slept with Betty- check. This narrowed the list down to about three people.   
  
Matt. Henry. Wilbur. Three people, because the Zach guy only slept with the fake Betty. Matt was in Africa, so he couldn’t do it. Daniel doubted Wilbur had the intelligence to do it, plus he didn’t know the little guy’s actual name. That just left one person: henry. He didn’t like Daniel, he had the intelligence to pull this off, and a suitable job to pay for it, after all he could afford to fly every other week. Betty had told him this when she was going to try long distance with henry.   
  
He just needed some way of contacting him without raising his suspicions or anyone else’s. Because it would have been highly unlikely for this to be a job all the way from Tucson. Although… Ella’s family lived in Chicago, which was a lot closer to Tucson than New York was. But why would henry need to do this to get Betty back, he was her first love, they would do anything for each other as much as Daniel hated it, it was true.  
  
Ella looked at him imploringly, unaware of Daniel’s sudden revelation. “so, what do you think it meant?”  
  
“I think I have narrowed it down,”   
  
“to the people, she has slept with? I wasn’t sure if that is what it meant, it might just be a guy wanting to have a wife,” she suggested, taking another sip of her drink. “I mean, I was surprised you didn’t notice,”  
  
“well, you look very similar, you know, the boobs, and… the hair,” she made a face as Daniel realised he had said too much, and blushed, looking away quickly.  
  
“okay, thank you very much for that.” Daniel shrugged, trying to forget he had ever said it. He wished he had some scotch right now, so he could wash away the awkward memories.  
  
“so, there are only three people Betty has slept with,” Daniel thought of another person, Betty hadn’t slept with them, but they had been in love with her- not that it had prevailed to anything, not for lack of trying. But he thought it unlikely that Gio was the culprit, especially since he wasn’t a vengeful person, putting Betty’s safety before his own.  
  
“oh, well that does make it easier.” She looked somewhat surprised. Daniel imagined Ella had slept with more people than his Betty, but she didn’t judge.  
  
“yeah, especially because one is in Africa, and one is too stupid and doesn’t have the funds to organise this kind of thing,” Daniel didn’t want to doubt Walter, but he wasn’t the brightest among them.   
  
“okay, so what are we going to do. Are we going to contact the one who you think it is?”  
  
“not just yet. I want my mother to do it, because if I did it would look suspicious,” Ella looked a bit disappointed, not raising her head again. “what is wrong?”  
  
“I think we need to get a move on. There is something you didn’t get- she wants to wait, that means they are waiting to get married,” she raised her eyebrows, while Daniel eyes practically popped out of his head.  
  
“he did propose once, the guy who I think it is,” Daniel mused, looking terrified as he continued to stare straight ahead.   
  
“oh, well I think there is a time limit, so you need to call him, even if it raises suspicions, because I am supposed to think that you are Betty.” He said, standing up away from his laptop, as he started to pace. He did this when he was stressed, which was getting increasingly more common since the discovery. He was just pleased he hadn’t inherited his mother’s heart condition. He suddenly paused in his pacing, leaning on the back of the chair, an idea springing to his mind. “why don’t you contact him?”  
  
“why would I do that?”   
  
“because then if you contact him, and he replies it won’t be him, or it might be him becoming suspicious that I already know because I am the one contacting him,” Ella looked slightly incredulous, not seeing how it was going to work for either of them.   
  
“I don’t really see the point of that, I thought the whole idea was to not let him know,” she seemed a little confused, because it was confusing. Looking back over it, it didn’t seem that good an idea, but it was the only one they had. He was terrified for Betty’s sake, and needed to do something, fast.   
  
“we need a way to get into contact, so change your Facebook status to not in a relationship or something.” Daniel suggested, knowing henry’s interest would be piqued if he wasn’t the one who had taken her. Daniel couldn’t think of anyone else. The idea of matt had crossed his mind, both having the money, the means; his behaviour was both flaky and obsessive, but you couldn’t come back from a volunteer service on the off chance.  
  
“now, that is a good idea,” Ella said, smiling happily at Daniel as she pulled Betty’s laptop towards her, apparently, she knew all of Betty’s passwords, supplied along with the lists and documents- which were mostly about her mother, and what she should do, nothing incriminating however. She was busy doing that while Daniel heard his phone ring.   
  
It was his mother, but she was supposed to be at some stuffy charity function with many other rich bitches there. She was only going because it was expected of her, and because she needed research for her book: _social affairs with socialites: how to survive the fur coat no knickers crowd._ She was sure it was going to be a best seller, he didn’t doubt it.  
  
“Daniel, this is urgent.” She said the minute he picked up the phone.  
  
“nice to hear from you too mother,” his tone was dry, usually the one favoured by her.  
  
“Daniel, this is important. Did Ella talk to the man?” his mother had been informed about everything, she was much more receptive to Ella, since the woman was carrying her grandchild.   
  
“yeah, she did. And I think I know who it is,” he said, eager to tell his mother that he had planned it all out. But before he could tell his mom she spoke.  
  
“good, so you know it is matt too?” Daniel froze, mid step which caused Ella to look up at him in confusion, as one foot was hovering over the linoleum as the rest of him was frozen. Eventually Daniel’s foot lowered so he was standing upright, reminding Ella of a wooden man, his movements stiff, jerky. She wondered what his mother had told him.  
  
“matt…?” he asked, his voice slow and slightly confused.   
  
“yes, matt. I think it is him, I am currently hiding in Victoria Hartley’s bathroom to ask you Daniel.” Daniel returned to sit on the worn chair, looking up at the blinding brightness of his computer screen.   
  
“mother, how could it be matt? Isn’t he in Africa.”  
  
“he never went,” she said, her voice soft and calm, tryingb to cushion the blow that her words implicated. Daniel felt dizzy as he looked across the table to Ella, who was staring at him somewhat confused, with her hand drifting to her stomach, which was slowly growing.  
  
“what do you mean? he told Betty he was going to Africa to do voluntary work,” Daniel couldn’t believe it. It had been under his nose all this time, and he had missed it- but then there was Ella right in front of him who he didn’t know wasn’t Betty. It made him feel worse, she was supposed to be the love of his life, he was supposed to have this special connection with her, but he didn’t realise it. He wasn’t even the first to realise it, his mother was the first to understand something was wrong.  
  
“well, his mother knew nothing of that.”  
  
Some sort of relief washed through him, it was just Victoria having no recollection of that- it could till mean matt was in Botswana. Daniel knew if he had a mother like Victoria Hartley he wouldn’t even tell her the time of day let alone what he was doing with his life. “mom, she might not know, I mean I wouldn’t tell her anything,”  
  
“she saw him yesterday, Daniel. Still, at least Betty is now somewhere where we can find her,” Claire said as the feeling of relief was gone instantly. Ella reached across the table to squeeze his hand.   
  
“how mom? She could be anywhere!”  
  
“I think she is in New York, because matt was here only yesterday, they couldn’t have gone far- especially if he called Ella. It is quite hard to get decent reception on an aeroplane.” Claire said, her voice soft again. Daniel knew his mother was doing it to make the news a little more bearable, but he was suffering anyway. This was awful, with henry he could intimidate him using money and power. But with matt he didn’t have any kind of upper hand, apart from when he punched the guy, but he didn’t want Betty kicking off about that again.   
  
Although she had admitted in a recent talk between them that it was a real turn on, when he went all macho over her, which led to some very passionate love making, where they forget to use any kind of protection. That is why he wasn’t that surprised when he thought Ella was pregnant (back when she was pretending to be Betty) but he would just have to get used to the fact he was going to have a kid with Ella, that being his only child because he was certain Betty was going to dump him for that.   
  
“okay, so what are we going to do?” he asked, his voice sounding much higher than he intended it to.   
  
“I don’t know Daniel, I don’t think you should just go over there and confront him, someone could get hurt!” she warned as Daniel looked down at his lap ashamed. That was the only plan he had. Ella looked at him, confused from across the table, not wanting to intrude since she had no ideas of how to help either.  
  
“what do you mean by- over there?”  
  
“he is living in the same place. I only think it is him, because of the way the list was written, only things someone who had slept with Betty would know that, and that isn’t a lot of people. Thank god! Imagine if we were trying to find you and that is the only clue we had, I would be dead before that happened.” She said as Daniel tried to not be offended by that.  
  
“thanks for that, mom. But how are we going to get her back, I really miss her. but, I am glad it isn’t henry,”  
  
“why would it be henry, he was a perfectly nice boy, and treated Betty very well. he wouldn’t do this to us.” Daniel felt like putting his fingers in his ears, why did everyone love the wonder accountant so much?  
  
“okay, thanks mom, why don’t you just adopt him?” Daniel asked, snidely, he hated being so jealous but sometimes he couldn’t help it, it was just who he was.   
  
“Daniel, seriously. This has got to stop, I will think of ways to get Betty back, but promise me you won’t do anything rash?” Daniel sighed, he couldn’t help being impulsive, and it was one of the things Betty quite liked about him, even when he persuaded her to make love in a broom cupboard. Before he could say anything else his mother had hung up and he was left looking at whatever was on his screen moments earlier.   
  
“so…”  
  
“don’t do the henry thing. It isn’t him, it is one of her old boyfriends, matt.”  
  
Ella looked confused “the one who is in Africa?”  
  
“yep, the very same. Anyway, I don’t know what to do, because this guy has more money than I do, I would be the one going to prison instead of him!” Daniel protested shaking his head. He knew his mother was right, he couldn’t just burst through the door of matt Hartley’s loft, then take Betty. Matt would have the police come before he even got out of the building, but it wasn’t that simple because he knew that if he wanted to do something right he had to make sure everyone else is okay.   
  
“I don’t understand, how could it be him if he is in Africa?”   
  
“he isn’t- he just lied to Betty for some unknown reason. Maybe so he could kidnap her and life happily ever after. We need to find a way to get to him,” he mumbled, putting his hands through his hair and grunting in irritation.   
  
“Daniel, I don’t think you should just ‘get to him’ remember how risky it is. My mother isn’t the only one who is at risk,” she instructed, picking at a tub ice cream which sat in front of her.  
  
“I know, but how else. I don’t even know when this is going to end!” he barked at her, trying to ignore the hurt look on Ella’s face. When she didn’t say anything for a minute Daniel felt dreadful, he didn’t want to upset her, but he was scared to death of something worse happening to Betty. He supposed he was quite glad that the kidnapper had love as his motive, meaning he would treat Betty well, despite his motives.   
  
“it is going to end when you hate her,” Ella mumbled. She hadn’t been sure of the exact timeline, but she knew his aim was to marry this Betty, because Daniel theoretically didn’t anymore. Then it should be over.  
  
“call him up and say I broke up with you,” Daniel said, leaning heavily on the table and glaring at her. Ella mumbled something, not looking at him, he didn’t want to upset her but he was going to do anything to let Betty come back.  
  
“I can’t do that Daniel. I just told him everything was fine between us,” she said, her face still set in anger.   
  
“okay, but we need to do something soon. You want to be back with your family, and I want Betty back,” she looked confused for a moment, then worried, a whole fleet of emotions dancing across her face so similar to Betty’s.  
  
“are you still going to keep in touch, because this is your baby,” her hand rested on her stomach again as she looked sad. One of the biggest things Daniel was worried about was Ella falling in love with him, and not knowing what to do because all his loyalties lay with Betty and they always would.   
  
Daniel looked at her again, of course he would just leave her. This was his child, he cared about them even if he didn’t feel the same way about Ella. “of course, I am, I just hope you understand that I will always love Betty. Nothing is going to change that,” he looked Ella directly her brown eyes to get his point across.   
  
“right, I know Daniel.” she did get his point as she returned to looking at the computer screen. “but I think I know what to do.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

“so, your plan is to tell matt that you broke up with Daniel-?” Hilda’s mildly questioning tone was cut off by Ella correcting her.   
  
“no, I am telling him that Daniel broke up with me, and that he hates me,” Ella sipped her chamomile that Justin had made for her that morning, saying she looked a little peaky. That was because she had been throwing up all morning. They hadn’t told Justin about the pregnancy yet.  
  
“and how is that going to work when he sees Daniel coming out of our front door?”  
  
“I don’t think matt makes a habit of driving around Queens, he is even richer than me. I bet even bobby would rob him,” bobby, who was coming through the kitchen door nodded at Daniel.   
  
“damn right. Why are we talking about Betty’s ex.” Daniel looked hurriedly between Ella and Daniel, both of whom tried to subtly stop Hilda from saying anything that would give it all away.   
  
“oh, he is back in New York,” Ella said, her voice quiet, as she winced when bobby came over a pinched her cheek.  
  
“say if he causes any trouble, okay chipmunk?” bobby smiled, walking back out of the kitchen. Hilda looked between the embarrassed Ella and the somewhat chastised Daniel.  
  
“can we bring bobby?” Ella asked, sipping on her drink again and making a face. Daniel looked even more annoyed.   
  
“why? I can protect you just as well,”   
  
“no, you suck at fighting, Betty would agree,” Hilda said, frowning at Daniel from across the table. He wasn’t good at fighting and when he was reunited with Betty she would prefer to have Daniel in one piece.   
  
“anyway… moving on from being mean to me!” Daniel said, looking mildly irritated at their critique of him. “I thought I would just hide out here, I have hidden inside for about a week before,” he said, smiling somewhat abashedly at Hilda and Ella.   
  
“I don’t mind that, but what about her apartment, you could stay there and it would be slightly easier to have a bit of space.” Hilda suggested, looking over at Daniel.  
  
“I don’t mind that, so I can get Betty back, maybe launch a sneak attack or something,” he suggested. He knew it would be easier to live in Betty’s apartment in the city since it would attract less suspicion from any secret camera’s matt had around the city, as well as making him able to actually venture out sometime.   
  
“I don’t know, Daniel, it seems risky.” Hilda said, looking between the brainstorming pair of Daniel and Ella.  
  
“I need to find her again Hilda, and if Ella has completed the mission-,”  
  
He was interrupted again by the sound of Ella rapidly chattering her teeth out of nerves, “there is actually a second part to my _mission_ ,” despite saying it with an air of slight disdain she didn’t patronise Daniel any more about it. “I have to disappear, so when they hear of Betty marrying matt you guys won’t be angry with her, just relieved she is alive,”  
  
“she is going to publicly announce it?” Daniel asked in total shock, ignoring the look of utter astonishment from Hilda. She reached across the table, hitting Daniel on the arm, as she glared at him. “ow, what was that for?” he asked, questioning Hilda’s retaliation.   
  
“is that the part you really focused on?”  
  
“well, I cannot believe she is actually going along with it. And we know that it isn’t really the case,”  
  
This time Ella was the one to speak up to try and make him see reason. “Daniel, we know, but the rest of her family doesn’t. Ignacio has a heart condition, we don’t want to shock him, or worry him too much.” She argued, looking down at her tea. “but I understand that you are worried about Betty, it is worrying!” she sighed, taking another sip then spluttering as the hot liquid burnt her throat.  
  
“and before you ask, yes, he has always been this stupid,” Hilda said, getting up from the table and frowning at Daniel. Daniel looked crossly at Hilda as she stalked out of the room.  
  
“I think I need to be alone for a minute,” he too got up. He needed to be alone because he didn’t know what to do, there was so much to risk just by him doing what he really wanted to and bursting into wherever matt was and rescuing Betty. They were not totally sure it was matt, although those who knew realised it was the most likely option. He just needed to get to Betty first of all and make sure she was okay. He knew that he didn’t want anyone else to be put at risk, which was somewhat overridden with his need to have Betty back. He just hoped matt’s love, or obsession with her was keeping her safe.   
  
Daniel went up to her room, where Ella was currently sleeping. It felt wrong for Ella to be in there without her, but it also felt wrong for him to be there without her. Some morbid part of Daniel was already imagining what it would be like to be without Betty- permanently. He knew that she could have fallen in love with matt again, as he seriously doubted that she was hurt, and would be removed from his life that way. Although he would greatly prefer the former to be in a way without Betty- however he would only settle if that situation was unavoidable.   
  
He sat on the bed, Ella slept on the side Betty didn’t prefer as she couldn’t sleep anywhere else, Hilda wouldn’t let her, on account of being pregnant. But he still had the side that smelt like his Betty, like her cheap and cheerful vanilla lotion that stirred something up inside of him. He was worried what she would think about him being friends with Ella, or about Ella carrying his baby. He wasn’t the happiest about that arrangement either.   
  
He could smell Betty on her pillow, which he knew sounded stupid, but he felt even more ineffectual since he couldn’t do anything to stop it from happening, he wasn’t doing anything now. He didn’t even realise what had happened until the last minute when there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t be the hero Betty needed, he couldn’t be the man she had helped sculpt into someone worth sticking around for.   
He sat on the bed, his hand drifting to the coffee table, where he ached to see her old red glasses, and her graduation picture where it looked as if someone had deep fried her hair. He wanted Betty back so bad that he didn’t care what she looked like, or where her loyalties lay. His only request was that she was her.   
  
He sat for a what seemed a long while with his head in his hands and his mind scattered to the corners of the room, it was like there was an internal reel through his mind, relaying all the moments between him and Betty that he could remember. There were a lot of moments, all of them precious. He was interrupted by a shy knock on the door, when Ella stuck her head through, holding a cup of coffee.  
  
“I thought you might need this,” her eyes were kind, despite having inferred that he was stupid a little while earlier. Daniel looked up but didn’t try and reach for the coffee.   
  
“thanks,” he nodded his head, but didn’t look up at her again.  
  
“how are you going to get Betty back then?” she asked, her voice quiet.   
  
“I am not, I am going to go along with your thing so that Betty can make her own decision.” He said, hoping that she couldn’t tell he was lying. She wasn’t Betty, she wouldn’t know what was happening when he was so obviously lying.   
  
“right…” she seemed a little unsure, but she didn’t say anything against the plan so he hoped that she believed him “well, I think that is a good idea. I am going to tell Ignacio about me though,” suddenly she had Daniel’s full attention. He shot up from where he was sitting, to look surprised at her.   
  
“erm, Ella… what?” he asked, his eyes boring into her own.   
  
“it will be much less stressful for him to find out his daughter is on her way to being found, than her going missing,” Daniel shook his head, as if he was trying to get water out of his ears.  
  
“his daughter is already missing. I think we should only tell him when Betty is safe and sound.” He said, unaware that he had practically given away his whole plan.  
  
“yes, but she is going missing again in order for me to find her,” Ella reminded him as Daniel realised what he had said. He had to think for a moment before he came up with an intelligible reply, or one that actually made any sense.   
  
“I... we are not going to tell him, until the last minute. He will have a shorter time to miss Betty,” Ella looked pensive for a minute then frowned again.  
  
“is that how it works, or is it going to get worse the longer we don’t tell him.”  
  


“I don’t know, I have never been in this type of situation before,” Daniel said, looking anywhere but Ella’s face. Ella nodded again, politely putting the tea on the bedside table and exiting the room, only with a slight nod in his direction. Daniel needed to find out what to do, he also needed not to tell anyone, because it could risk endangering him and others. All he knew was that he just wanted Betty back. And no one was going to stop him.

  
Marc and Amanda sat on the outside of their desks, listening to people milling about them and wishing there was something to mock, shame Betty wasn’t here. Still, her taste had improved slightly, something which had bemused them since it was really quite sudden.  
  
There was a time when they were united in their hate of Betty, not because she didn’t look like everyone else at MODE, although that was a good scapegoat, but it was because she was too… good. She was fantastic at her job, making them look bad in comparison, and on top of that they managed to have a social life. But then Amanda thawed because Betty was nice to her, not just regular ‘I am polite even though I don’t like you’ but actually wanting to be her friend, and taking her in when she had nowhere to live. She had done everything to try and win marc over, although he still wasn’t the keenest on her.   
  
“hey, Mandy, when do you think Daniel is going to be back?” he asked her, smiling through the haze of male underwear models who had infiltrated the halls of MODE, not that he minded the views. Daniel hadn’t come into work for a couple of days, even though he was supposed to be doing work for their 100thanniversary issue, but he hadn’t appeared.   
  
Marc was only asking because he wanted to know if he and Amanda were still going to London, of course Amanda was going to try and bring Tyler, even though marc highly doubted Daniel would the one paying for his ticket. Still, Mrs. Meade always would for her, considering Amanda looked as if she was next in line for the woman’s daughter in law, unless Betty got there first.   
  
But there had been something strange going on between Daniel and Betty, considering marc hadn’t caught them doing something so revolting it nearly made him faint thinking about it in Daniel’s office for a few weeks now. He wanted to know what that was all about, because as much as it was disgusting seeing them all over each other it did show that there was still love in the world, which was so much could be said for his love life.   
  
Trevor was all well and good, only he wasn’t, because he hadn’t seen the guy in about a month, or could actually remember his name. It was okay for Amanda where they were many handsome rich men, she could attain them in a way that he would have much preferred, rather than the whole feelings trip that Amanda seemed so intent on having.   
  
He had had feelings, when he was with cliff. There was a part of him that didn’t want to have a repeat of them because it didn’t end well. Nothing good had ever come for him feeling something, he might as well be dead from the eyebrows down like Wilhelmina. His own mother had turned him down because she didn’t approve of his lifestyle, but marc wouldn’t change himself no matter how much she wanted him to.   
  
Marc and Amanda had once thought about what it would have been like if they had been born in a time where everyone was like his mother, and he didn’t mean obsessed with cats- although it was obvious she wished he was obsessed with cats. Amanda told him that she would have married him, and allowed him to be who he wanted, even if they weren’t rich. Betty may be nice, but Amanda would always be his best friend.   
He knew it was selfish, but he was scared she was going to leave him behind when she moved on with Tyler and she had lots of little Meade’s running all over the place. He would always insist they were cuter than Daniel and Betty’s rug rats but it wouldn’t be the same, she wouldn’t want to run all over clubs, dragging him around because her gaydar was so much more superior than his.   
  
“I don’t know, do you think he is in London instead of letting us go?” she asked, looking distraught. Marc knew she wouldn’t want to miss out an opportunity like that.   
  
“I don’t think so Mandy,” marc was able to reassure her, as he spotted the subject of their interest entering the building with betty behind him.  
  
“why?” she looked around, bemused.  
  
“because he just walked in. You can ask him if you want,” marc got up from the desk, smiling at Betty as she came to her desk. She looked somewhat shaken up, not noticing him smiling at her. Something must really be distracting her as he couldn’t remember the last time he purposefully smiled at her. Amanda trotted off, going to find Daniel. He wanted to go to London, and meet some hot British guy but he had begun to realise that it would be unlikely to happen.   
  
He needed to find someone that he could truly love, someone like Betty was to Daniel, because that was obvious, only he shouldn’t give up now when it had only just begun. But he didn’t really mind whether or not he went to London since everyone knew Amanda was just going to mince about doing the worst imaginable British accent as well as looking as if she was going to the races… as a jockey. But he was going to have to work, and it was going to be boring.  
  
“hey, Betty,” he tried to use his sweet voice, persuading voice even though he didn’t want to persuade her to do anything.   
  
“hey, marc,” she said tersely, not even looking at him.   
  
“guess who I saw today?” he said, the smile still on his face, it might have been the least most interesting news of the day, but he needed some drama around here, it was getting ridiculous around here as it was so boring, even Wilhelmina ending up in hospital got boring after a while.   
  
“who?” she sounded marginally more interested now, however she still didn’t smile at him, maybe she already knew?  
  
“just your ex luv-ah matt Hartley,” he said, trying to keep his voice devoid of mocking.  
  
“matt?” she stared wide eyed for a moment, then got up and immediately fell to the ground. Whoops, marc hadn’t quite meant to make her faint, but in his defence, he didn’t think she would be that dramatic.   
  
“Betty? Are you okay?” he asked, rushing to her side to try and stir her but she was still unconscious. He needed to alert Daniel, he might know what to do more than he did. “Daniel, Betty’s fainted,”  
  
Daniel rushed into the room, looking white faced and rather as if he was going to faint himself. “again? jeez, marc, what happened?”  
  
“I was just telling her that I saw matt Hartley in MODE today,” Daniel went even whiter, although marc wouldn’t mind catching him.  
  
“shit. Are you sure marc?”  
  
“yes, he was being really dodgy though, avoiding me when I said hello. I thought he was helping orphans or whatever.” Marc said, seeing the look on Daniel’s face wasn’t remotely amused by his rather cute ability to not remember specific facts.   
  
“okay, I need to call the hospital, maybe get her an ambulance or just a town car,” he gently pulled her head onto his lap, feeling the sides of Betty’s neck. Marc didn’t know what to do since he wasn’t very well versed with people fainting on him, especially when he was the one doing the fainting. As much as he tried to not be a cliché he was very squeamish.   
  
“erm,” he didn’t even know why Betty needed to go to the hospital, he had fainted plenty of times, whether or not because he saw something disgusting, or someone had thrown a shoe at him (it happened more often than you would think working with Wilhelmina) and all the time he had gotten up and was back to being abused by the evil queen in minutes.   
  
“town car please marc, hurry up!” Daniel ordered, trying to cushion Betty’s head. Marc called the town car quickly, not saying anything else to Daniel until he had finished.  
  
“why are we calling an ambulance, is she okay?”  
  
“it is a complicated story marc, but for you to know anything about it you need to promise not to say anything to _anyone_ else.” His voice was firmer than marc had ever heard it. He tried to pretend it wasn’t a turn on. It was ridiculous for anyone to think that of him, of course he would tell Amanda- they practically shared a brain.   
  
“even Amanda,”  
  
“especially Amanda.” Daniel firmly said again. Marc was surprised that his first instinct wasn’t to revolt, instead he felt like he should actually find out what is wrong without telling anyone.   
  
“what is it, I promise.”  
  
“Betty is pregnant, and she isn’t… well, she isn’t Betty,” Daniel said, leaving marc to stare into space in confusion. How could the woman in front of him who looked exactly like Betty, and this was coming from someone who was paid to look and judge things for a living, not be Betty?   
  
“what?”  
  
“it is Matthew Hartley’s fault,” he said, and marc wished he had used Amanda to waylay matt the minute he had seen him. He thought it really did prove he did like Betty.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

Betty sat up among the sheets, not saying anything to anyone even when the cleaning staff filtered through the room to clean it. You might ask why she wasn’t able to leave but even for the windows that stretched from ceiling to floor they were a six story drop onto the street. She wouldn’t survive that, as well as being unable to break the windows in the first place since they had thin strips of metal running through them, acting as a reinforcement.  
  
She wasn’t able to knock out the security guards by the door, nor unlock the door that she didn’t know how to open. She had tried to escape, of course she had- she didn’t want to be stuck in this world where she felt she didn’t belong, and where she didn’t belong. He tried to remind her that she did belong because she had been with Daniel, how he knew that he didn’t say, but with Daniel there was love. Daniel cared for her and cherished her beyond belief. Daniel was the one that would carry her everywhere if she even so much as stifled a yawn.   
  
This was different, he didn’t love her, he was obsessed by her, and that didn’t always mean the best of care. She might be in sheets with a higher thread count than she could think of, but it didn’t mean that she was treated kindly. It was almost like she was indebted to him, for what she had no idea.   
  
She just hoped someone would find her before matt decided she was going to marry him, he had been in a good mood about her not saying anything untoward about their upcoming nuptials. She wanted to throw it all back in his face but no one had come crashing through the door yet, and if she didn’t behave then it would be lights out for her, only temporarily, but it was horrible not knowing what had happened to you because you couldn’t wake up.  
  
Betty sat further up in the bed, not knowing what to say to matt as he burst through the door, scattering servants out of her bedroom. She first had thought they were in matt’s old loft, instead he had purloined this apartment more suited to elderly ladies, reminding her rather a bit of Mrs. Meade’s apartment. It was a shame matt had blocked the windows out only allowing a layer of frosted covering in order to let light in. Betty had to take his word about the six-story drop.   
  
“what is wrong matt?”   
  
“I just noticed the damn apartment next to us is for sale,” he had told Betty that they were in an apartment building because it was the more logical thing to do, as well as making it harder for any rescue missions, there were lots of apartment buildings in the city.   
  
“oh, well, they won’t disturb us,”  
  
“you don’t know who is going to buy it,” he spat out, pacing at the end of the bed. Betty covered her mouth quickly, feeling sick again, so she lied back against the pillows. Whenever she had been taken sick before matt hadn’t been the kindest person, unlike Daniel who would do anything for her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken a sick day from work, she rarely was sick and it was always Daniel who was the big baby kicking up the fuss over a cold.   
  
“I don’t, but I doubt they would interfere,” she rested back against the ridiculous number of pillows on her bed. She hadn’t had the energy to remove them last night.  
  
“you don’t get it,” he shouted. “I am bound to be interfered with, it is just going to happen. I should have taken you to Switzerland,” he sighed. Betty looked around the room in confusion. She didn’t even know if he was in New York, because all of the staff matt had hired couldn’t speak a word of English, much less with a region-specific accent.  
  
“well, I am perfectly happy here, wherever we are,” she shrugged, lying through her teeth, which still had their braces on.  
  
“I thought you wanted to be back with Daniel?” he asked, looking over at her a malicious and calculating look etched on his expression. Betty may be able to lie until she is blue in the face, during the day but her dreams would betray her at night.   
  
“I… erm, I am missing him less now,” she said, knowing that she couldn’t help what she said at night, so the lies needed to be turned down slightly.   
  
“well, you were moaning my name last night- so I guess that could be true,” he said, his smile more joyful, genuine. Betty was moaning his name because in this dream matt was the actual devil who was doing a lot more in his kidnapping than keeping her in a luxury suite.   
  
“see, I am missing him less!” Betty shrugged, afraid her smile had turned grotesque in fear.  
  
“shame you insist on waiting, my bride. Still, I guess it will be even better when we are married,” he smiled, coming up to sit beside her and kiss her. Betty couldn’t help but cringe even if it was for just a second. She wasn’t going to get used to this life, matt’s insane jealousy and rages, that is why they had all female employees now because one of the men who he employed to clean said Betty would suit a certain pair of shoes which would make her legs look longer. What matt failed to spot was that, the certain man who said that was in fact, gay and just giving her fashion tips.  
  
She cried herself to sleep that night because she missed Justin.   
  
“well, it is going to be amazing because we have waited so long,” her voice was false and cheery. Matt nodded at her, almost seeming like his old self for a moment.   
  
“we need to get those braces off, I am going to call an orthodontist. Who was your old one?”  
  
“Dr. Farkiss.”  
  
“wasn’t he the creepy one who hit on you?” matt asked turning around suddenly on his walk towards the door.  
  
“yeah, don’t get him,” Betty said, leaning back against the pillows again. She never thought she would get this excited over an orthodontist, but she might be getting her braces off and she might get to go outside to have the procedure done. She didn’t know which was more exciting.   
Betty lay back against the bed for the rest of the day, she didn’t even have a television or any other electronics in case she tried to contact the outside world, so she was just left with a notebook and a pen and a lot of books. Betty wondered why she didn’t just try her best to escape, people escaped from prison and they had much more security than this place. Betty was sure none of the staff would bat an eyelid if she decided to walk out.  
  
But she was scared, matt had made it very clear what would happen to those she loved if she felt like releasing herself from this very posh torture chamber. Betty wasn’t eager to take that risk, even if it meant she would have to marry matt and break Daniel’s heart. It would be better than his heart stopping in any case.   
  
What felt like only a few minutes (the book she decided to read was actually rather good) she heard some commotion at the front door. Betty supposed it was the orthodontist, matt was always good at flashing his money about when trying to get something he wanted. She hated it, in anyone- not just matt because it felt gross. She had done so well without much money all her life, she didn’t need to rely on the extravagance of millionaires.   
  
She hoped it wouldn’t be the orthodontist, simply because she wanted to go outside to have the procedure done. Betty was sick of the stuffy air in this apartment, even if it did smell like green apples. Matt reappeared, with a middle-aged woman following behind him. She had a perfect smile, and brown hair, and while she was dressed in a lab coat her clothes underneath were girly in taste. She hung back, no doubt admiring the room, not yet looking at Betty.   
  
“so, babe, this is Dr. Frankl. She is one of the best orthodontists, and she does home visits. She said that if everything is all good then you could have them off today,” he smiled, coming over to the bed where Betty was waiting. The woman was examining a vase on the mantle opposite her bed, obviously waiting for matt to finish talking.   
  
“okay, thank you, matt,” Betty said, turning her head away from him so he couldn’t kiss her cheek. luckily after that, he just exited the room. As the door clicked shut softly the doctor turned to face Betty, her eyes immediately widening.  
  
“haven’t I already taken off your braces?” she asked, looking confused. Betty felt confused too, she would have remembered meeting this woman before, especially if she had anything to do with having her braces off.   
  
“erm, I don’t think so- see?” she smiled, revealing the glinting silver lines   
  
“hmm, that is weird. I remember your face, and then your smile. An accident at the Guggenheim, I am surprised a young lady like you worked at MODE, well your handsome boss was worried enough about you,” Betty blinked, frozen in fear. How did she know she worked at MODE? How did she know Betty was dating Daniel?  
  
“erm, how did you know?” Dr. Frankl looked surprised at Betty’s question.  
  
“you told me, it is Betty Suarez right, Daniel was worked up into a frenzy, but I have never had to do a job where someone’s braces had to be removed from an item of clothing.” Betty remembered they were going to do a feature shoot on the million-dollar bra later at MODE.  
  
“the million-dollar bra?” Betty asked dumbly.  
  
“yes, your boss did say you had hit your head earlier that day, trying to get to a friend. But he also said that you were slightly confused beforehand, which is probably why the security guard took you down,” she mused, moving over to Bettys side, and asking her to open wide. Betty did, wondering what was going on but still having the uneasy feeling.   
  
She managed to close her mouth for a moment, once again able to talk. “erm, when did I meet you?”  
  
“you said one of my other patients, Zachary boule- dashing playwright, apparently, you were doing a story on him,”  
  
“but I only met him once,” Betty said, looking even more confused, at saying this Dr. Frankl looked up at her through her glasses, moving away from where Betty was seated.  
  
“are you alright? You didn’t hit your head again, did you?” she asked, looking concerned for Betty as Betty shook her head, watching the woman. What if there was someone else being her? what if no one realised she had gone, it made her feel slightly better, because it meant no-one had forgotten about her, they just thought she had never left.   
  
“no, I don’t think I am alright,” Betty said trying to remember the date which when she came here.   
  
“oh, what is wrong?” Dr. Frankl asked, sitting upright on the chair she had pulled over.  
  
“did Daniel seem happy?” Betty asked, not smiling. Dr. Frankl looked momentarily confused, but then she spoke.  
  
“when you had your braces off he was. why are you here anyway, I thought you were happy with him?” Betty felt as if she could trust Dr. Frankl and she desperately needed to talk to someone about this, it wasn’t a violent or brutal kidnapping, but she was well aware it could turn that way if she did anything wrong. She shouldn’t have to live like that, in that idea of limbo, she needed to talk to someone about it.  
  
“erm, well it isn’t exactly out of choice,” she mumbled, hoping that the woman would be quiet and not tell anything about hostages or kidnapping.   
  
“oh, is there anything I can do?” she asked, to Betty’s surprise. She expected the woman to be like everyone else she had met, fine to hear about your problems but ask for their assistance and nothing ever came from it.  
  
“are you willing to help, really?” Betty asked, reaching across the bed to try and lower her voice. She knew it was risky to be talking about this, especially when matt had probably bugged the whole place.  
  
“you don’t seem happy with the guy even though you live in this place and he seems to dote on you. I understand now, though, you are obviously in love with this Daniel fellow,” she said, wise beyond what she knew for certain. Betty felt herself warming at just the thought of Daniel, and the fleet of butterflies returned again, swarming around her stomach.   
  
“yeah, I am… or I was, until this,” she glanced around the room, not looking happy.  
  
“are you in love with him, this Daniel man?” she asked, and Betty nodded properly.   
  
“I love him… more than anything,” Betty mumbled, her voice unsteady, not because she doubted it was ever true, but because she doubted that it would be again. What if Daniel had fallen in love with this other Betty and forgotten all about her? where would that leave her? what if she had to go back to matt because there was no one to rescue her?  
  
“do you want me to tell him where you are?” Betty looked at the woman who was looking more and more like her fairy godmother by every passing minute.   
  
“yes please, but I doubt he will care.” At those words of utter misery and defeat Dr. Frankl took Betty’s hands in her own and stared her straight in the face.  
  
“listen here, if I was right about the way he was looking at you, he will start- if not already be looking for you. He will want to know where you are,” she reassured Betty as Betty smiled at her, quickly tearing a page from one of the notebooks and writing her address down. She also wrote the addresses of Daniel, his mother and her apartment, labelling them in accordance.  
  
“maybe, if Daniel doesn’t know he will get a bit defensive-,”  
  
“oh, I am very used to men who behave like little boys, don’t you worry. Now, let’s see about having these braces off,” she examined Betty’s mouth quickly, and smiled.  “I think we can do this today!” she smiled widely as Betty blinked in astonishment, feeling her braces for one last time.  
  
“you really think you can?”  
  
“yes! It is going to be a lot easier without the extremely expensive bra stuck to your face however,” she smiled, and set to work removing Betty’s braces.  
  
When she was done, matt stepped back into the room, admiring Betty’s lack of braces, but Betty didn’t feel so happy. She was disappointed that Daniel wasn’t the first one to see her smile without the braces, as the saw the imposters smile instead. He loomed over her, looking as if he was about to kiss her but Betty reeled back, not wanting him to be the first one to kiss her when she didn’t have her braces on.   
  
“what is wrong? Why don’t you want me to kiss you?” he asked, looking furious at her. Dr. Frankl had long since left the room, winking at Betty as she held the addresses in her briefcase, so there was no one around to help Betty come up with an excuse. Luckily her body did that for her.  
Betty ran to the bathroom, another bout of the mysterious sickness that she had been having. He followed her to the bathroom, not comforting her instead watching her with an evil glint on his eye and an equally malicious look on his face. When she stood to go out of the room, he blocked her path. She wiped her mouth, trying to look apologetic.  
  
“sorry, I don’t think that the swilling stuff was agreeing with me,” she said, trying to look at him with enough pity in her eyes to actually stir up some emotion in his.  
  
“I actually think I know what it is,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. Betty backed up slightly, ending up so that she was seated on the closed toilet lid.   
  
“the rinse? Or did she not wash her instruments?” Betty asked, playing as dumb as she could get.  
  
“no, I think you are pregnant,” he said, his voice cold and unforgiving.  
  
“matt,” Betty froze for a moment, knowing that was the truth. She was pregnant and Daniel wasn’t anywhere near her or that is all she knew, but she must still be in New York after seeing Dr. Frankl. But she might never get to tell him about that, so this baby would grow up without a father because there was no way she was letting it have one who was like matt. “that is impossible,” she said, shaking her head.  
  
“it isn’t. You slept with Daniel, didn’t you?”  
  
“well, yes, but I don’t think I am pregnant,”  
  
“you better not be, because no wife of mine is having a bastard heir to the Meade legacy, so you better start considering other options,” he said coldly. Betty stared up at him in shock.   
  
“what do you mean?” she asked, not wanting to realise he was implying the worst.  
  
“get rid of it Betty,” he slammed out of the room, leaving Betty sobbing into the carpet. She knew she couldn’t fight it with logic, he would make sure she did it, even if she never left the room. Betty would just have to find some way of escaping because this baby was the only link she had left to Daniel, in her existence anyway.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry I haven't updated in so long, I wasn't able to update the last time I tried, but updates will be more regular from here on.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

Daniel kicked the door once more, wishing for someone to come to it and yell at him, instead of being faced with an empty silence. Still, what did he expect? When you have kidnapped someone, you didn’t just come to the door when a mad man was trying to knock it down.   
  
This was matt’s old loft, he should be here! The guy had never left for Africa, he had never gone anywhere except for apparently leave this apartment, he even went across to bang on the door of the other loft space he had, only that was filled with paintings (that one had been a lot easier to break into) but to this no he had no avail. He pounded on the door again, only to have someone yelling at him as they ran down the corridor.  
  
“hey, dude- what the hell do you think you are doing?” a man in a suit more expensive than his ran up, pulling him off the door. Daniel scanned his face to see if it could possibly be matt but the man had broader features and blond hair.  
  
“sorry, I thought someone else lived here,” Daniel mumbled an apology and moved away from the door, looking worried as the man seemed quite aggressive.  
  
“yeah me, so leave before I call the cops,” he said, moving to unlock the door. Daniel scuttled away from him, back onto the street, turning his coat up against the New York wind, even though it was getting on in springtime now. Still, his whole world was cold without Betty in it.   
  
He just wished there was something he could do, Ella was telling him to wait until she had completed her mission to help her mother, and Hilda for some odd reason was agreeing with her. Daniel had to go to his mother to find matt’s address, matt’s _old_ address. He strode down the street, his shoes thudding heavily on the sidewalk as he was getting increasingly annoyed, and walking faster as he always did when he was stressed.   
He did however, turn around when he heard someone calling his name. He jumped like a rabbit in headlights whenever he heard the sound of someone calling his name, to see if it was Betty finally returning to him, but it was only a plump middle aged woman running down the sidewalk.   
  
“it is you!” she said, coming to a stop right in front of him and trying to catch her breath. Daniel was trying to recognise her, wondering if he had ever slept with someone that old, and it must have been pretty memorable for her to remember him. But then he did remember her, from the day at the Guggenheim when he thought Ella was Betty. The day that started the ball rolling.   
  
“erm, you are the orthodontist, right?” he asked, knowing he had to get her profession right, after many lectures on it by Betty.   
  
“yes, I have something to tell you, Betty told me to come and find you,” she said, standing in front of him in the street, looking rather like she was floating on a cloud with the fluffy ring around the bottom of her robe. Daniel couldn’t think of a reason why Ella would go to doctor Frankl in the first place.   
  
“erm, why did Betty go and see you,”  
  
“she didn’t, I went to her, it seems the poor girl hadn’t had her braces off after all.” She said, looking up at him inquisitively. He knew Ella had gotten her braces off at the Guggenheim, so what was she talking about?  
  
“erm, you took her braces off, yourself.” Daniel said, looking somewhat confused.   
  
“yes, and I have done so today, it seems Mr. Hartley was not aware of the accident at the Guggenheim. Here is his new address,” she passed him a piece of paper with an address of a posh corner block of apartments.  
  
“you mean you know that Ella, the woman at the Guggenheim isn’t Betty?” Daniel asked, shocked at how she got the information.  
  
“yes, I do, because the real Betty has just had her braces removed. She is worried everyone has forgotten about her, so I think she was a little surprised when I thought I had already taken her braces off. She gave me your address, but she told me to tell you where she was right now,”  
Daniel looked down at the scrap of paper in his hand, wondering how he was going to get into such a posh building, even being Daniel Meade wasn’t good enough. “how? They don’t just let people walk in there,” he said, faced with a look of bemusement from the short woman.  
  
“there is currently a place for sale there, I was thinking when there is an open house you could get in there,” she said, raising her eyebrows, which practically disappeared into her eyebrows when Daniel leant over to hug her. He blushed as he let the startled woman go.  
  


“sorry, it is a habit I picked up from Betty. Thank you so much!” Dr. Frankl smiled, thinking about how the plucky young woman had also given her a big hug, it wasn’t the worst trait to catch on.

  
Daniel practically danced the whole way to queens, getting some very strange looks from people on the tube, since he couldn’t be bothered to wait for a town car since he was so eager to share this news. But as he got closer to the house he thought better of it, if he told them and they kept telling him to wait, then when he was too impatient to wait it would be the first place they would look, ruining it for himself as well as everyone else.   
  
He wanted to get the treatment for Ella’s mother, and he wanted to make sure everyone stayed alive because money did make you powerful, look at his mother and Alexis. They had both gotten off murder charges, or attempted murder charges. Being rich did things for your ego as well, he knew his father wouldn’t care about anyone that got in the way, which is why sometimes Daniel thought he would have been Wilhelmina’s perfect match since she was just as cold and annoying like that.   
  
Still, he was going to have to come up with a plan to even get near the building, maybe he could buy the place there, as an excuse to spend time there, and of course, sell it off when he got Betty back. Daniel was certain she wouldn’t want to live in the building where she was held prisoner. Doctor Frankl didn’t say anything about how Betty was, although if she had time to wonder where they all were he suspected that she would be okay physically. Matt may be slightly deranged, but if he did this out of love he wouldn’t have hurt Betty, surely not?  
  
Maybe he would take Ella, acting the perfect couple as to not alarm matt that he knew about the plan. Ella wouldn’t know who matt was, because although matt must have known what she looks like in order to make her do this mission, Ella had insisted she had never had anyone formally recruit her, just been told to do something like a survey to earn some money.   
  
Ella was lying on the sofa, the swell in her stomach getting more apparent every day. It was a good thing Ignacio knew about the baby as well as Justin otherwise there would be more uncomfortable questions to answer. She looked up from the telenovela on the television and smiled when she saw it was Daniel.  
  
“hey, where did you go,”  
  
“around and about. Ella, I need to get my own place, because with you and the baby and everything I don’t feel right being in my late wife’s apartment and Betty’s is too small,” he said. He had contacted the realter in between getting back to the Suarez house and coming back from seeing Doctor Frankl.   
  
“okay, did you have somewhere in mind?”  
  
“I have been looking for a while, but there is this place, three bedrooms, good for when we actually find Betty. They are doing a showing in a couple of days, do you want to come?” he asked, hoping she couldn’t see the blatant lies through his plan.   
  


“okay, you tell me when,” she said, smiling and adjusting her position on the couch. Daniel was gleeful, he was going to get this all sorted because he needed to get Betty back, come hell or highwater. This was the first proper step in his plan.

  
They got up to the apartment showing a few days later where there was a steady stream of people through the door, mostly the elite since this was an expensive building but this was no object for Daniel. Ella kept close to his side, almost burying her head in his lapels. She was obviously nervous but he didn’t know why, no one knew her here- that she was aware of.   
  
“Daniel, do you really like this place?” she asked, looking with scrutiny at the kitchen, which he couldn’t see anything wrong with personally. It was bright and airy with white walls and fashionably vintage moulding.   
  
“yes, I really do.” Daniel did love it, and looking over at Ella he could imagine it was his Betty on his arm. She would be the one expecting, and smiling up at him like he so often wished for. Maybe she wouldn’t really like the place because it was so blank and empty, but he could imagine when they had made it their own. Of course, Betty would have to hang her poncho on the wall, which if marc or Amanda came to visit would make some poisonous remark about it.   
  
“why? It is so bare,”  
  
“Betty, we will just have to imagine it with our stuff in it,” he said, careful to remind himself that she was actually pretending to be Betty, and he needed to call her that because matt was next door.   
  
“why are you calling me that?” it was a little odd since he rarely called her Betty in public, unless they were with people who knew both of them and weren’t immersed in all the drama.   
  
“because if I put her name down on the lease, then introduce you as my girlfriend things are going to look suspicious.” He said, glad of his fraudulent history because it had made him a very fluent liar.  
  
“oh, thank you Daniel. Are you really going to make an offer?” Daniel nodded, not wanting to reveal it immediately as another couple was walking up to the realtor. He sent Ella tottering forward, holding her stomach, and distracting the other couple as Daniel swooped in.   
  
“hey,” he said to the realtor, who was one of those women who looked as if she was on the hunt for a husband. She smiled at him flirtatiously.  
  
“hello? do you have any questions?”   
  
“no, I am actually here to make an offer on the house,” he said, smiling his own dashing smile at her and ignoring the stares of death from the other couple.   
  
“oh, of course! Are you sure this is the one, I have other properties,”  
  
“no, this is perfect, thank you!” he said, not wanting to spend any more time alone with the woman. “Betty, baby come over here,” he called Ella to his side as she looked momentarily disgruntled when watching him. They watched as the apartment cleared out, as Ella stood by his side.   
This was his new place, his new chance at getting Betty back because nothing was going to stop him. He knew that no-one else knew where she was right now, but that wouldn’t stop him. He was going to get her back one way or another. Ella stepped out into the hallway with him, as the realtor had the keys already on her, and they had signed the paperwork in the kitchen. Things were so fast paced now.   
  
“Daniel, are you sure about this?”  
  
“Betty, I will paint your room whatever colour you want it,” she looked up at Daniel, confused why he was calling her Betty when they were alone, but matt was living next door and he couldn’t risk taking any chances. Only Ella didn’t know that.   
  
“fine, I want it to be yellow,” she said, as a relief because that was also his Betty’s favourite colour. They stopped half way down the hall, hearing someone coming up the steps. Daniel was somewhat excited to meet their neighbours, apart from matt although he would take great satisfaction upon seeing his face.  
  
“yellow it is, then! Do you want the poncho in your office on the wall as well?” he asked, as he listened to Ella giggle at that just before he walked into the person coming up the stairs. It was matt. He reeled backwards, clutching his coat further closer to his being. His head was shaved somewhat, but it had almost a five o’clock shadow to it.   
  
“sorry,” he mumbled, not looking at them. But Daniel recognised him. He was going to enjoy this moment.   
  
“wait, matt?” he asked, leaving Ella to spin around, a look of horror on her face. He felt a little bad about that but it was nothing that couldn’t be avoided.   
  
“Daniel?” he looked straight past Betty and to Daniel standing behind her.   
  
“matt, I thought you were in Botswana?”  
  
“yeah, I came back. The mission was failing.”  
  
Daniel feigned concern “I’m sorry to hear that. So, what are you up to nowadays?”  he asked, pulling Ella closer to his side, she gripped his arm, obviously alarmed.  
  
“well, I live on this floor,” he said, his voice cold.   
  
“wow, so do we. We just moved in next door,” Daniel said, happily, his hands winding around Ella’s waist, while matt’s eyes followed their movements.   
  
“oh, right. When are you moving in?” he asked, his voice cold but terrified.   
  
“well, I am going to get Betty to stay here because she is a little tired, but I am going out to get a picnic,” he smiled at matt ignoring Ella’s disgruntled and confused look. He knew they hadn’t practiced this, but this was improv. And Daniel had his other suspicions, that he needed to confirm.   
  
“Daniel there is barely any furniture in there, only the show stuff,” Ella protested.   
  
“the show stuff is good enough. There is couch if you need a nap,” Ella tried to protest again, but Daniel was going to make sure she was safe. Matt wouldn’t do anything to her, he was sure. Daniel had a spare phone that he normally kept for the office, as he slipped it into Ella’s handbag, wanting to make sure she was okay. Turning the call volume down he smiled, kissed her on the cheek and left the building, listening to their conversation.  
  
 _Matt: Why are you here?_  
  
 _Ella: Daniel wanted to buy the place, he doesn’t tell me anything. He just dragged me here, but he said he had looked at plenty of others._  
 _Matt: drop the act, Ella. I know it is you, and you know who I am too._  
  
 _Ella: you said I wouldn’t need to talk to you again._  
  
 _Matt: you knew who I was when I met you before._  
  
 _Ella: I didn’t realise what you were planning on doing, and then I couldn’t get out._  
  
 _Matt: all you have to do is keep him away until we are married, but make him hate her._  
  
 _Ella: he just keeps coming back, and I cannot disappear, her father has a heart condition._  
  
Daniel listened to their conversation, somewhat shocked. He wasn’t expecting that, Ella knew it was matt from the beginning and although they had finally found out she had known all along. Ella might have been worried about her mother but someone’s safety was at stake. It wasn’t fair for her to keep that from him.   
  
He might have waited, he would have made sure her mother would have still gotten the care she needed for her mother, but he would do anything to get Betty back.   
  
Daniel had only gone so far, at the bottom of the building, where he waited, sitting on the cold stone steps. It reminded him of the time, where months earlier he had been waiting for Betty because she had stood him up for dinner, and although she was with matt at that time it was first when he had considered having feelings for her.  
  
So long they had only been platonically engaged in each other’s lives, occasionally acting as sort of a matchmaker or confident about the romantic stuff. Betty used to say that he came to her to talk about it more than he did with the actual woman he was dating at that time. But seeing Betty in a different light, not one altered by her physical appearance because that didn’t matter one bit when love came to it.   
Daniel went back to listening to the conversation, having missed a few verses of it.   
  
_Matt: Ella I don’t think you understand that I need to do this, Daniel doesn’t deserve her-_  
  
 _Ella: he isn’t bad, it is not him I am thinking of when I ask you not to make me disappear, Betty’s family just want her back whether or not she is married to you._  
  
Daniel could not believe that Ella was condoning this, especially since she was trying to support the family. No one was thinking of how Betty would feel, what if she didn’t want to marry matt? He knew Betty well enough that she would do it just to save Ella’s mother, even if she didn’t know Ella. Heck, Betty was kind to Renee _whilst_ Renee was trying to kill her. That girl would never do something because she wanted it, only for the sake of other’s. That is why he had to find her first.   
  
_Matt: good, then they won’t mind if I move up the wedding. I don’t see why you haven’t just let Daniel go yet. You would get your money for school._  
  
 _Ella: I… I think I can wait for that. Betty’s family won’t like you very much if you are the cause of Ignacio having a heart attack!_  
  
 _Matt: doesn’t it have a time limit. You need to get in next semester, why else would I be making out these checks to the university of Chicago?_  
  
Daniel froze, Ella wasn’t getting money for her mother’s treatment and not telling matt, she was getting money directly funnelled into an  
expensive college. Betty went to queens college and look how great she turned out. It was just outrageous that Ella would be doing that, lying to them just so she could get money for school. And the same woman was carrying his baby. What was stopping him from running up there and getting Betty back?  
  
 _Ella: because I need it, and I will get it done in time, but Daniel is so clingy._  
  
 _Matt: just get it done because I cannot wait around much longer, I think she is pregnant._  
  
 _Ella: who, Betty?_  
  
 _Matt: yes, I told her she needs to get rid of it, otherwise I am not going to be happy._  
  
Before matt had gone into the whole idea of an abortion Daniel’s heart had already fallen out of his pocket. His Betty was pregnant, and matt was trying to get rid of her? what the hell? He was already running up the stairs since the lift was taking too long to wait for, his worry for Betty keeping him going.  
  
He got into the hallway, spotting Ella still talking to matt, both froze when he came out of the stairwell but Daniel sauntered up to them, as if being out of breath was perfectly normal.   
  
“I forgot my phone,” he said, reaching into Ella’s bag to get it. Now he was here he didn’t know what to do, punch out matt? It had worked before but he had hurt his hand in the process, and matt was bound to have bodyguards to protect his wimpy form. But he needed to do something and he wasn’t just going to stand by and let Betty suffer when he was literally only meters away from him.  
  
So, he took matters into his own hands and punched matt in the face. He turned to Ella who was looking shocked, standing stiffly by his side, her eyebrows raised so high they had practically disappeared into her hairline.   
  
“Ella, keep him here,” Daniel instructed, trying to ignore the dull ache in his wrist and the stinging of his knuckles. On second thought, Ella would probably encourage matt to go after him. “do not let him through, I will pay for your mother, school, everything- just keep him here!” Daniel cried, running to where the door to matt’s apartment was. Luckily it was a similar sort of layout to his old loft, with a fire extinguisher in the hallway. He knew how to break a door down with one of these.  
  
When he did, the apartment was empty, well the hallway was. Daniel couldn’t remember seeing an apartment with a winding hallway quite like this one, certainly not the one next door he had just bought. He couldn’t see anyone, which was good since the hallway didn’t have any doors off of it, and was more like a porch area considering its small size.   
  
He got to the end door, knocking on it politely and waiting for a reply. There was no chance he was going to burst through if there were bodyguards present. He didn’t want to ruin his chances of getting into the room. He knocked again on the gloss painted white door.   
  
He was trying to run over excuses in his head. Exterminator: no, too cliché- that and the cable company. Police, or another emergency service would provide suspicion, and if he was going to be a delivery boy then where the hell was his delivery? Also, if he was arguing about delivering things he wouldn’t be allowed to just walk straight into where Betty was because he was pretty sure that wasn’t in the living room for anyone to see.   
  
He didn’t know what he was going to say when whoever answered the door. Daniel knew that in a hostage situation or a kidnapping case they may not let anyone into the building but Dr. Frankl had been let in, presumably to stop Betty from getting out. He could pretend to be a doctor, although he didn’t have a clue what to say about stuff like that, and matt presumably already had a doctor if he knew Betty was pregnant, and just in case anything happened to her.   
  
But matt wanted to get rid of the baby… finally- he had an excuse. He just hoped they wouldn’t be expecting him to do anything now, he would just be a guy from the clinic coming to check up on matt’s bedridden girlfriend. Finally, someone did answer, it was a stocky man in about his thirties, only slightly older than Daniel. He squinted when he saw him standing at the front steps, dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt.   
  
“who are you?” he asked, not even bothering with formalities.   
  
“erm, I am the doctor Mr. Hartley called for.” Daniel said, practically feeling his pulse race as he nervously stuttered out the words.   
  
“we already have a doctor, he is an onsite one,” the man said, looking as if he was about to slam the door in Daniel’s face. Daniel had to quickly rectify his other excuse.   
  
“erm, I am the one from the abortion clinic, I was called only yesterday to check on Ms. Suarez?” Daniel tried his best to look sympathetic and professional all at the same time. Upon saying this, the bodyguard opened the door wide for Daniel, gritting his teeth in a sympathetic way as Daniel walked into the apartment. It was spotlessly white, with only a few accents of colour, but even those remained in monochrome, Betty must really hate it here.   
  
Daniel walked through the minimalist living room, it looked nothing like the apartment next door which had plenty of character and glamour. This was just… boring, even if it did remind Daniel of his old loft. The first-time Betty had been there she had decided to sit on his hammock and fell off promptly because she swung too hard. Daniel was smiling at the memory of it, although his joy was clearly misinterpreted as he surveyed the apartment.  
  
“beautiful place, ain’t it?” the bodyguard asked, looking up at the walls too. “almost makes up for you work,” he said, looking somewhat disapproving.   
  
“yeah, I am only here to check on Ms. Suarez today, I need to make sure everything is well enough for the procedure,” Daniel said, not looking at the bodyguard only at a door behind the bodyguard’s head, what if Betty was behind that door?  
  
“if she isn’t well will it go ahead?” Daniel thought for a moment whether or not Betty would be well enough to have their baby but she was healthy before-hand, and as his mother had kept on pointing out Betty had great childbearing hips. How he missed Betty, not just her amazing body but her sexy mind too.   
  
“if it is a risk to the mother’s health then it wouldn’t be wise to continue, however most medical abortions are carried out because of that same risk,” Daniel said, tapping into knowledge of long ago debates about the right of human life. The security guard nodded at him, clearly not understanding a word of that but choosing to believe him anyway, which was good for Daniel.   
  
“well, she is right through here,” he pointed to another door Daniel hadn’t even considered Betty being behind, mainly because it just looked like a bookcase.  “do you need me to stay in the room?” the body guard asked, and Daniel, surprised that he was even given a choice quickly shook his head.   
  
“that won’t be necessary,” he said, and was just glad he got in since he didn’t even have his briefcase with him. At least Dr. Frankl had come with some tools. He stepped into the room, holding his breath as he did so.   
  
The room was light and airy like the other one but reminded him more of his mother’s house with the frills that seemed to adorn everything. He hadn’t noticed it in the other room, but the windows were frosted over with some sort of decal thing stuck over it. The bed was huge, with frilly blankets and pillows on which Betty slept. He couldn’t believe he was seeing her for the first time in over a month, her hair was fanned out from her head, as she was fast asleep against the pillow.   
  
His heart was hammering in his chest, as if it was mechanised. He just hoped she was okay, in the telephone conversations Ella had had with matt, he had always said about how Betty insisted on waiting until marriage, hopefully that day would never have to come. He skirted around to her side of the bed, gently sitting on it as he placed his hand on her shoulder.   
  
“Betty, baby, wake up!” he said, scanning what part of her he could see with her old-fashioned nightgown on, he noticed subtle differences, perhaps more than he had seen in Ella. She blinked her beautiful brown eyes, blinking at him in surprise.   
  
“Daniel? is this a dream?” she asked, her voice slightly scratchy. He moved closer to her, smiling at her as she blinked uncertainly.  
  
“no, it is a hundred percent real, baby,” he whispered, brushing her silken hair away from her face. “I love you Betty,” he whispered, seeing her smile.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty

Betty looked up into Daniel’s eyes as he sat, surprising her next to her on the bed in her hostage apartment. What was he doing here? Not that she was complaining, that was unlikely, but it was just a little surprising.   
  
“Daniel… uh, I don’t feel so well,” she said, which may not have been the most appropriate response to him telling her he loved her, but it was the truth. Betty wondered what Daniel would think when she told him she was pregnant, he might think it was matt’s child- which Betty couldn’t bear if he left her on the basis of that.   
  
“okay, sit up,” he pulled her up to sit next to him, her bodyweight resting against him. She was fine, she just suspected it was morning sickness.   
  
“how did you find me?”  
  
“Dr. Frankl saw me coming back from matt’s old apartment. I knew you were with him, but I didn’t realise that you were here,” he kept his arm tightly coiled around her, like a laugh raft.   
  
“how did you get in?” she asked, having a million questions running through her mind, but Daniel seemed hurried. To Betty she felt as if she had all the time in the world, it was different because she didn’t know what was going on in her life. It was different because she had no responsibilities, because when you have been traumatised nothing is expected of you at all.   
  
“Betty, as much as I love you and will answer all of your questions, I am in a hurry to get you out of here,”  
  
“Daniel?” she asked, her voice loaded with tension with her need to find out the answer.   
  
“I punched matt out, and I am pretending to be the guy from the abortion clinic to get in here,” he said, his breath shallow as he spoke quickly.   
  
“you what? How did you know I am pregnant?” Daniel sighed irritably with all her questions, knowing he didn’t have long if Betty was right about his famous ability of sucking at fighting. Time was of the essence here.   
  
“later, Betty, later. Right, I need to find a way of getting you out of here, so are you willing to fake a seizure again?” he asked, slightly worried that it would harm the baby, though. Betty, though was apparently still half asleep because she blinked at him blearily, rubbing her eyes slightly.   
“Daniel? why do I need to fake a seizure? And tell me how you knew I was pregnant,” she commanded, sitting up a bit straighter.   
  
“I will tell you all of this when I get out of here, okay?” he tried to lift Betty slightly so that she was off the bed, only she looked as if she was about to faint. That was considerably less dangerous than faking a seizure. He was sure Betty didn’t want another chopstick jammed in her mouth.   
  
“but, what about Hilda, does she know?” she asked. For a moment, Daniel wondered if Betty had been drugged, she seemed so out of it. Well, he would have time to ask that when they got to the hospital.   
  
“Betty, sweetie, are you okay?” he asked, seeing that she was fading fast, which meant either she had been drugged or, she was just already on the edge of fainting. Either way it was good enough to get him out of here. He lifted Betty up, not seeing any of her other personal belongings, not even her bag. Daniel didn’t know where matt had put that, though. She was now unconscious, so as he lifted her up he was especially careful not to hurt her as he walked through the apartment.   
  
“what are you doing with her?” the security guard asked, seeing Daniel carrying Betty.   
  
“she is unwell, and I haven’t even done anything. I need to take her to hospital,” Daniel said, shifting so Betty was more securely in his arms. He was worried about her, but the feeling of Betty in his arms was able to counteract that, he had her back, and he wasn’t letting her go anywhere again.   
  
“oh, would you like my assistance, sir?” thank god, the security guard believed his somewhat ridiculous story. Daniel tried to rearrange his face to a grim expression, thinking about how if he was smiling with joy it might give the game away a bit. He might actually get away with this though!  
  
“no, thank you. There is a lift, and I have trained personnel in my car to deal with this,” he lied smoothly. Finally, being Bradford Meade’s son was paying off! And… he spoke too soon, since matt burst through the door a livid expression on his face as he spotted Daniel with Betty. Oh crap.  
“stop! Put her down right now!” he yelled, trying to march up to them, but while Daniel may not have been able to keep him down for long he had done something because matt was swaying as if he was drunk. He just hoped Ella would be alright and that he hadn’t hurt her.   
  
Daniel held his breath, sure that the security personnel was going to realise he wasn’t the doctor he claimed to be and stop him in his tracks. But then something surprising and miraculous happened.   
  
“sir, this is just the doctor from the clinic you called. Betty is very sick, he needs to take her to hospital,” the security guard explained.   
  
“no!” matt roared, lunging for Daniel who stood his ground, nodding and looking terrified. “no, he can’t do that!” matt said again, only to be restrained by his own body guard, who was cradling him next to his chest, cooing to matt.  
  
“sir, let the doctor do his job,” he said, as his big form held matt tight.  
  
“there isn’t anything wrong with her!” matt continued to shout, and Daniel couldn’t help the smile on his face, since the security guard thought that matt was simply distraught with the news that Betty could possibly be sick.   
  
“I am sure there isn’t. but you have to let the doctor get on with his job,” he said, rocking matt in his arms. Daniel nodded thankfully at the doctor as he showed himself out.   
  
He really wished he hadn’t bought the apartment now.   
  
Ella was standing in the hallway, looking exhausted and frightened. Daniel couldn’t see any signs of anything wrong with her, and he didn’t have time to check right now, as he ushered her along into the elevator.   
  
“Daniel, I called the town car,” she supplied him, as the frenzy had somewhat calmed down. Betty was still in his arms, still unconscious, but breathing- thank god! While Ella stood at his side, looking terrified. Daniel let himself breath again, as he tried to shift Betty in his arms so that he was still supporting her. He had failed to notice Ella was shaking as she stood next to him.   
  
He was in a very strange situation, with two women who looked identical to each other, so much so he was going to ask Ignacio if he had had twins since the likeness was uncanny. And both women were pregnant with his child.   
  
“Ella? Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?” Daniel asked, only being able to turn his head, as he couldn’t swivel with Betty in his arms.   
“no, he just got up and pushed me to the wall.” Just having heard Betty’s voice, it was strange how different they sounded, Ella’s voice was more realistic, less squeaky, whereas Betty’s could be linked to cotton candy, light, airy almost unreal.   
  
“are you okay, though?”   
  
“yeah, I am sorry I didn’t do more to stop him,” she said, looking as if she was going to cry. Daniel couldn’t stand that, even if she had lied to him and prevented him from seeing Betty.   
  
“it is okay, he got restrained by the body guard,” Daniel smirked, remembering the quite funny scene and being relieved that he could laugh now.   
  
“what happened?” she asked, grinning up at him. Daniel looked down at Betty’s sleeping, angelic face. He felt guilty for laughing about something that she wasn’t able to join in with.   
  
“I am taking Betty to the hospital, I pretended to be a doctor to get in. when I was taking her matt got in, but the security guard restrained him because he thought that matt was just upset Betty had to go to the hospital.” Daniel said, laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Ella started to laugh too, then it was good and bad and weird all at once.  
  
They stopped giggling, the metal bubble they were in burst and let them out onto the street. The town car was waiting as Ella stepped in first, and Daniel slid in after, still holding Betty. The driver drove what felt like too slowly, although Daniel still would bet he was faster than most ambulances. When they finally got to the hospital both he and Ella were allowed in, Ella being her ‘twin’ as Daniel put it, and Daniel her fiancée- fake fiancée.   
  
Betty lay on the hospital bed, Daniel explaining that she had been rescued from a hostage situation, which may have not been the wisest thing to say, but it was the truth, and the truth was better than nothing. People liked things explained, Daniel knew from past experience, because even the rich guy couldn’t get by on a shrug alone, even if he really didn’t know what was going on.  
  
He sat by her bed, thinking of all the times he could have been there for her, thinking back to when he first realised Ella wasn’t Betty, and how it should have been all over then. But, he needed to be strong, to find Betty again, and he had. Betty was drugged, only mildly, and probably only for the actual examination, or when matt went out of the apartment in order to stop her trying to escape.  
  
She lay back against the hospital bed, looking sadly much shabbier than the luxury she had been living in. Daniel knew Betty wasn’t fickle, but what if she actually wanted to stay there? What if she was still in love with matt, and he had just ruined everything? Those worries didn’t stop him sitting beside her bed, as he waited for her to wake up.   
  
He had called Hilda, but not her father since no one had told him yet. Maybe they could make the switch without him noticing, and then tell the tale of the two Betty’s. He knew his mother might find it funny if everything was okay by the end of it. Betty was still within the drug induced state, and would probably be for a few more hours, as he would have to wait until the effects had worn off in her bloodstream.   
  
“Daniel?” Hilda said, bursting into the little private room, her hair pulled into a haphazard ponytail as she apparently had rushed to the hospital, it was the first-time Daniel had ever seen the elder Suarez sister look anything less than perfect.   
  
“I’m here, and so is Betty.” He smiled at Hilda, who brushed back her hair from her face, looking as if she was about to cry. She sat on the chair the other side of the sterile hospital bed, the only colour was Betty who was sitting upon it, with her beautiful tanned skin. Even the hospital gown was in shades of grey.  
  
“wow, how is she? My sister?” she asked, the words sounding foreign even as she said that. She wasn’t used to saying it as a reality, more as a theory of what they all hoped.   
  
“she has been mildly drugged, but the baby is fine,” Daniel said, smiling happily. Daniel had forgotten that no one else knew about the baby, only him simply because matt had managed to spill the beans a little earlier than expected. He was glad of that, without that valuable piece of knowledge he would have never gotten up the courage, or have the perfect excuse to get Betty out of there. The baby did save her in the end.   
  
“the BABY! What did that sonofabitch do to my sister?” Hilda yelled, well, yelled was a bit of an understatement. She screamed it as if she was the one who had been kidnapped and from the sheer power of her voice could let her get out of there. Daniel reached across the bed, trying to calm Hilda down, as one of his hands snaked into Betty’s cool palm.   
  
“nothing, Hilda, it is my baby,” Daniel said, quickly otherwise he was sure the remains of matt Hartley would be found somewhere in the east river tomorrow morning.   
  
“are you sure?” she asked, not returning to her seat.   
  
“yes, the doctor said she is about 8 weeks gone already.” Daniel explained, wishing to feel Betty’s hand tightening around his own, because he felt like he couldn’t properly touch her in case he hurt her.   
  
“wow, so you got two women who look exactly identical pregnant. I don’t know how you are going to explain this one,” Hilda said, raising her eyebrows at him. Daniel bit his lip, not wanting to say anything purely because he was so terrified of the actual time he told Betty about it. Ella had a little time to come to terms to it but Daniel could tell she was still nervous, it wasn’t every day that you actually found the woman who you were hired to act as them to trick their boyfriend. Okay, that was too much for him to repeat every time he had to explain something.   
  
“I don’t either, where is Ella?”  
  
“throwing up in the bathroom, she should be out in a minute, but… I was just wondering something?” Hilda said, looking worried about even asking it. Daniel felt sympathetic, it was horrible for him, but imagine what it was like for Hilda. She was Betty’s sister, she had known Betty as someone other than the plucky remarkable woman she was now.   
  
“go ahead, Hilda,” Daniel said, releasing his grip on Betty, but not without a kiss on her smooth skin.   
  
“can I be here for when Betty wakes up, I will tell her that you are coming back, I just want to see my sister,” Hilda explained, still sitting next to her sister.   
  
“yeah, of course. I think Betty needs you here,” he nodded at Hilda, leaving the room to go and find Ella who would probably want some medical attention after all the puking. Whenever he was sick he practically needed to be spoon-fed.  
  
Ella stepped out of the bathroom, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand and sighing even though he could see she had washed her face. She looked a lot weaker, and much like Daniel felt himself, especially with his worry about Betty. Ella grimaced, holding her stomach but managed to keep upright and in front of him. “is she okay?” Ella had been permitted to come into the ward but had waited outside while she was examined.   
  
“she was drugged, but it wasn’t to do anything, just to make sure she didn’t try and get out. The baby is fine, and definitely mine,” Daniel smiled at Ella, she looked reassured but then a cloud of confusion spread across her face.   
  
“unless she was sleeping with anyone else!” Ella joked, but Daniel just glared at her, surprised she was even making a joke like that. It would be perfectly understandable if she had fallen in love with him, he was the father of her baby after all, so he wouldn’t just disappear out of her life if she wanted him to.   
  
“please… don’t,” he said, leaning slightly into his hands as he walked down the corridor with her. He knew Betty wasn’t in any danger, they were just keeping her there while she was still drugged to make sure she was okay after waking up, especially since she was pregnant.  
  
“sorry, I am really nervous about meeting Betty, I make really inappropriate jokes when I am nervous,” she said, although Daniel had never known Ella to do that before.   
  
“okay… were you swapped around too? Did you tell matt about the baby?” he asked, looking at Ella who seemed a bit out of it in shock.   
  
“no, no. I just… it is really weird because I don’t want Betty to think I am going to steal you or whatever. I have my own boyfriend, well, I had a really big crush on this one guy from my old school,” she started to talk about her crush as Daniel breathed out a sigh of relief, before he and Betty had gotten together she had always wanted to talk about her old boyfriends, but as she got to the final throes of her relationship with matt she wouldn’t talk about anything with Daniel, rather because she wanted to be the one talking _about_ Daniel.   
  
“oh, well, does he like you?”   
  
“I think so, I wanted the money to get into college since my Mami got ill and I used the money to pay for it that was supposed to be my college fund. Afterward we had no money, so I was trying to work as well as look after her because even though the treatments worked she is still weak,” Daniel had taken Ella to see her sick mother, but it had turned out her mother wasn’t still sick, and the money was indeed for Ella’s education.   
  
“Ella, why did you lie to me?” he asked sighing openly at her. He knew why, she needed a chance but he didn’t even know the circumstances of how she got the chance to have a questionnaire about it. Matt was going for a very specific look.   
  
“because… I needed money for college, without it I would still be stuck as a waitress and that wasn’t making enough money, so when this guy came into the café…” Daniel’s mind rewound to when he had listened to the telephone conversation between Ella and matt which seemed days ago, let alone hours. Ella still didn’t know Daniel had listened to the whole conversation between them, and knew things she was probably never going to tell him herself. “… and he talked to me for a bit, saying that he recognised me from school. Then he said he was doing a study thing at the college I wanted to go to, and that I should join because he was paying people.”  
  
“that was the questionnaire bit, right?” Daniel asked, remembering her earlier comments about how she expected a questionnaire and not a whole other life.   
  
“yeah,” she looked down at her sensible shoes, which were actually Betty’s (he had stopped her wearing heels because she was pregnant) as they walked, going down into the cafeteria of the hospital.  
  
“was it matt who you met?” he could see Ella was going through a complex thought process, where she bit her lip in the exact same way as Betty did. No wonder he had taken that long when many of her mannerisms were the same to Betty’s.   
  
“yeah, oh- Daniel,” she quickly pointed to the entrance of the building where Ignacio was marching in, with bobby and Justin, all of them looked concerned, until they spotted Daniel and Ella.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

Ella turned around, spotting something “yeah, oh- Daniel,” she quickly pointed to the entrance of the building where Ignacio was marching in, with bobby and Justin, all of them looked concerned, until they spotted Daniel and Ella.  
  
Who they thought was Betty. Luckily all of them had been out of the house before Ella had woken up, since she and Daniel were going to the showing today so both of them were off work. Ignacio had only been told that Betty had fainted, _not_ that she had been kidnapped and drugged by her insane ex-boyfriend.  
  
“Betty? Mija? Are you okay?” he came up to her, engulfing her in a quick hug as Ignacio was aware that Ella was pregnant, maybe it was good Betty was pregnant as well because there wasn’t any explaining where the baby had gone… but when Ignacio found out, Daniel was bound to be severely told off, either by Ignacio or a belated telling off by Hilda, because that was bound to come eventually.   
  
“yeah, erm-,”  
  
“Ignacio, I believe we have something to tell you,” he said, in a gentlemanly fashion, knowing he better do this right otherwise Ignacio may have another heart attack, and Hilda may beat him to death with her handbag. But, his train of thought was interrupted by a girlish squeal.  
  
“oh, my god, he’s prosing!” Justin said, luckily, he said it in such a high-pitched voice no one else around him understood him, unless they had been living with him since he was born. That is why Ignacio turned to Daniel with a shocked look on his face.  
  
“are you?” he asked, his voice scratchy with fear. Forget heart attack Daniel was going to give the man an ulcer, on top of it.   
  
“I’m not proposing, calm down-,” he gave a glance to Justin who looked woeful “everyone!” he turned back to Ella who was frowning slightly, unsure of how to proceed. “erm, meet Ella.” He pulled her forward as Ella frowned at him, crossly.  
  
“er, Betty, did you change your name?”             
              
“no… I never was Betty, I am Ella- well my full name is Elizabeth.” She said, looking demurely down at her shoes. Ignacio stared, with obvious anger written into his expression, Daniel knew it was a shock, but he didn’t feel right about keeping Ignacio in the dark for so long, especially when his actual daughter was lying, upstairs and pregnant.  
  
“where is my daughter Daniel?” Ignacio asked him, looking angrier than Daniel had ever seen him, which wasn’t surprising, since Daniel could imagine how angry this would be if this ever happened to any future daughters he may have. He had to stop himself from grinning like a fool, because this wasn’t the occasion, but he was so happy that he could possibly have _two_ children. In an ideal world, they would both be with Betty, the real Betty-  but he wasn’t going to love Ella’s child any less because it’s mother wasn’t the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.   
  
“she is upstairs,” he followed Ignacio marching crossly up the stairs to the room, while Ella, bobby and Justin all followed behind. Bobby and Justin were both watching Ella as if she was a mythical being, which wasn’t helped by Ella turning a very pale shade of green again, and needing to run to the bathroom when they got on the floor, and because Daniel was the father he hung back with her… and Justin. Justin had become sort of a one-man interrogation team as they waited outside the ladies’ bathroom for Ella to finish throwing up.   
  
“so, that isn’t my aunt who is throwing up in the bathroom?” Daniel gritted his teeth, knowing he was going to have to answer the nosy teenager’s questions, because Hilda was probably answering any questions Ignacio had, with her own tale of events, ones Daniel was sure wouldn’t reflect on him very well. He might as well get his own point of view in here.   
  
“no, that is Ella. She is really nice-,”  
  
“and pregnant, well, at least it isn’t yours. Why does she look like aunt Betty?” Daniel was confused to why Justin thought Ella wasn’t pregnant with his baby.  
  
“erm… why do you think that?”  
  
“what, that she looks like aunt Betty? Because I have eyes Daniel!” he tried to ignore the teenagers withering remarks and bit his lip.  
  
“no, the baby thing,”  
  
“oh, because you would never cheat on my aunt, you love her too much,” Daniel loved that Justin could think that of him, but he felt so dreadful because that baby was his… or probably was, they were going to get the test results tomorrow. But, it was true, he had cheated on Betty, and become one of the things he despised most, although he didn’t think their situation fit into a category.  
  
“well, Justin… I did sleep with Ella,” he tried to ignore Justin’s dramatic gasp “but only because I thought she was your aunt Betty,”   
  
“were you drunk?” he asked cheekily. Daniel rolled his eyes at that remark.  
  
“no, and before you judge me, you didn’t realise she wasn’t your aunt until today,” Daniel said, leaving Justin’s eyes wider than saucers.   
  
“excuse me? until today? How long has she been pretending to be my aunt?”  
  
“about six weeks…” Daniel whispered, hating the admission of his guilt, because he was guilty. He cheated on his beautiful, loving Betty who had done nothing wrong- all because he was too blind to see.   
  
“SIX WEEKS!” yep, Justin got that off his mother, which was probably going to be good in stage productions, because Daniel could hear him from a mile away. Justin didn’t take kindly to Daniel doing that, either. “oh, no you don’t, Daniel. How on earth did you not notice? I don’t see my aunt every day, but you do- and surely she isn’t _exactly_ the same?!” he said, in anger and intrigue.  
  
“it is actually quite similar.” Justin grimaced at that, to which Daniel wasn’t surprised, no one wants to think of their aunt, or her look-alike naked. Just the thought of _his_ aunt Margret like that gave him the shivers.   
  
“okay… moving on… where was my actual aunt all this time?”  
  
“with matt-fricking-Hartley!” Daniel growled as Justin made a pensive face.   
  
“matt? Well, he was always a bit weird,” he said, leaning against the wall on the bathroom, Daniel was getting slightly concerned about Ella who hadn’t come out of the bathroom yet.   
  
“in what way?” Daniel asked, somewhat distracted as he hammered on the door, worried about Ella.   
  
“well, he was rich, richer than you, but he dressed like a bum, and it isn’t the trend where Gucci has made a scarf that everyone thought would be only for poor people, until he made it. His clothes were aunt Betty awful.” Justin said as Daniel stifled a laugh, banging on the door again, as he interrupted Daniel.  
  
“Ella, come on, are you okay?”  
  
“I am fine… just a minute!” she called from inside the bathroom, while Daniel felt uneasy about the whole situation, what was Ella doing in there?  
“and he was always forgetting his wallet, and doing other silly things, but then he did something crazy like try and buy our house, or AB that bee thing, it actually buzzed, Daniel!” Justin continued to talk as Daniel hit the painted, solid wood of the door urging Ella to come out.  
  
“I said just a minute!” she called, and then muttered something else. Justin raised his eyebrows, not happy about being interrupted.   
  
“she is talking on the phone,” he supplied Daniel with, not explaining anything else, instead pointing to the door. “I can get it open if you want, Daniel?” Daniel feared it may be matt, but surely Ella wouldn’t do that, if he had promised to pay for her. She had been in the middle of  
explaining before though.  
  
“sure, go ahead,” Justin pulled his wallet from his pocket and from that a credit card Daniel was surprised Hilda let Justin have, considering his aptitude for spending a lot of money of expensive clothes. Justin crouched in front of the lock, careful to smooth his clothes out, as he set to work on it. Daniel knew that they probably had cameras in the hallways, and this was something that wasn’t allowed, but he needed to make sure Ella was okay.   
  
Daniel watched as Justin worked the lock, finding the biting point for it before it clicked open, apparently not to the notice of Ella. Daniel rested his hand on the doorknob, waiting for Justin to tell him it was okay. “where did you learn to do that?” last time Daniel knew, Justin wasn’t the type for breaking into people’s homes, more the type to comment on the decoration of their homes.  
  
“my dad taught me, he said it would be good if I ever locked myself out of the house after I had come back from seeing a girl,” Justin made a face, but Daniel didn’t want to laugh. He had had his suspicions but decided not to take any notice of them, only support Justin when he was there, since he was a good kid, and Daniel had been alive long enough to know that it didn’t matter in the making of a good person.   
  
“okay,” Daniel knocked on the door again, only this time he swung the door open to indeed find Ella on the phone, to none other than matt. “Ella! Jesus, give me that phone,” he commanded, but before she could protest Daniel had snatched the phone away from her.   
  
“Daniel, what are you doing? Give me my phone back?”   
  
“matt?” he said into the phone, the anger bubbling through his voice in a way Ignacio had sounded minutes before.   
  
“Daniel, what the hell? Where did you take Betty?”   
  
“somewhere were you aren’t going to hurt her again!” Daniel said into the phone as Ella curled up slightly on the toilet seat.   
  
“Daniel, don’t you get this- she wanted to be my wife,” he said, the tone of evil evident in his voice. Daniel knew Betty, and the relief on her face when she spotted him was unlike any he had seen before. It was like she had just seen an ethereal being and was rather happy about it.  
  
“you drugged her, matt! No one who is willing to do anything would need to be drugged. You have no idea what you have put me and her family through, not to mention poor Ella-,”  
  
“well, Betty won’t be very happy to learn you slept with her replacement,” matt spat out, Daniel sighed, knowing he shouldn’t have involved Ella, even if she was shooting him a grateful look for doing so.   
  
“look, I am going to explain it all to Betty, matt. But you didn’t even consider her point of view,” Daniel’s voice was softer, he didn’t feel like shouting, as he knew most arguments were won by staying calm.   
  
“yes, I did. She wanted to be my wife, Daniel, she told me,” at this point Daniel couldn’t believe he was having a negotiation with someone who kidnapped and drugged the love of his life.   
  
“she told you that because she was terrified, someone who is being kidnapped wouldn’t be in the habit of disagreeing with their kidnapper. But, matt, she is hurt.”  
  
“she isn’t!” matt shouted down the phone, getting increasingly agitated. Daniel looked around the dingy bathroom, with all of the cords connected to alarms hanging down in case someone needed help. Maybe this wasn’t the best place to have a conversation.   
  
Daniel gently led Ella out of the room, into the hallway with Justin as Daniel continued to place the hallway talking to matt. “…matt, you don’t understand Betty is sick, she is unconscious because of what you did to her,” Daniel tried to reason after listening to a lengthy verbal tirade from matt.   
  
“I didn’t do anything to her!”   
  
“doctor’s tests prove otherwise,” Daniel remarked, hanging up the phone. He would have to call some of his connections, because betty was in danger, it was obvious matt wasn’t thinking things through properly or being at all rational, so maybe it would be best if his mother knew.   
  
Daniel walked down the corridor, trying to get to Betty’s ward, and as he did so, he noticed no one was outside her room. Not even Ella, where had she gone? He went to the door, looking in as they were all gathered around her bed, while Betty was awake, sitting up and looking confused.   
Daniel felt all the air rush out of his lungs as if he had been winded. He was terrified of seeing her, terrified she would reveal she actually wanted to be with matt, and hated him because he had gotten another woman pregnant. He wouldn’t be at all surprised if she did hate him. He wasn’t the biggest fan of himself at this time, either. But Hilda did notice him, and stepped outside. She looked sympathetic.   
  
“hey,”   
  
“hi Hilda, are you going to hit me with your handbag?” he asked, almost ducking in preparation.  
  
“no, because it is my fault just as much as yours,” she sighed, sliding down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, an expression of utter misery on her face.   
  
“how is it your fault? It is my fault, if Betty had never gotten together with me then matt would have never got jealous and tried to kidnap her,” Hilda looked up at him as he said that, and was wondering when all the people in her room would come out, especially since none of them could tell her the full story.   
  
“Daniel, I don’t see how this is your fault, if you think that then you could have just as easily said it was your fault because you wrote her the YETI recommendation and without that she would have never met matt? That is just ridiculous Daniel, you cannot think like that, because she might have met matt going down the street and all this would have happened, just on a different timeline.” Hilda said wisely, trying to console him as he still didn’t know what to do.  
  
“fine, it is a little bit my fault. How is it your fault?”  
  
“I should have realised she wasn’t Betty from the beginning. I mean, it is one thing for you not to know, but I have known Betty all my life, and I didn’t realise,” she sighed, as Daniel truly looked at Hilda’s face with the streaked make-up that came from rubbing her eyes and crying.   
  
“to be honest, Ella did put up a good performance,” Daniel wasn’t going to upset Hilda further by telling her about Ella’s lies, but he was going to try and talk to Betty.   
  
“can I go and speak to Betty?”  
  
“yeah, oh crap! Those four have no idea what they are talking about, we are the one who actually know anything,” she jumped up, barging into the room with regained confidence, while Daniel lingered by the door.  
  
He was scared of lots of things, but disappointing Betty had always been high on his list, and he had let her down. Daniel may have been the one to save her, and the first to realise that Ella wasn’t her, but he had also cheated on Betty, and worse yet: got another woman pregnant.   
But Hilda led everyone except for Ignacio and herself out of the room, before Daniel entered, telling them all to go down to the cafeteria and get some food. Daniel stepped in, Betty was sitting up against the pillows, with a confused expression on her face. But when she saw him she lit up and smiled.   
  
“Daniel! Is it true that you got another woman pregnant?” was her first question. Obviously, Justin hadn’t left out the details on that one. This was going to be fun to explain.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

“… is it true you got another woman pregnant?” Betty was confused, one minute she was in her ‘new’ bedroom, then she was in a hospital bed with people watching her as if she was a monkey in the zoo. And one of those people looked exactly like her. Maybe not all of them were watching her, Hilda was busy yelling at their dad, although it would have been more accurate to say that they were yelling at each other.  
  
Then Daniel came in, looking sheepish, and all Betty could think about was the random snatches of yelled conversations she had picked up in her confused state, was that Daniel had slept with someone else, and gotten them pregnant. She was shocked, she couldn’t imagine Daniel doing something like that, purely because he had so been against cheating ever since his childhood.  
  
“Betty… erm, hold on for one moment,” he said, momentarily stepping out of the room, and leaving more of her questions unanswered. Betty could feel the butterflies in her stomach swarm again, which she had been told it was her baby. As the baby got bigger the kicking would be more obvious but because it was so little the doctor said it would feel like butterflies.  
  
Eventually Daniel came back into the room, the woman who looked exactly like her following him, looking as shocked as she felt. “Daniel?” the woman said, tugging on his sleeve as if she had grown accustomed to doing so.  
  
“erm, Betty… this is Ella, Ella this is Betty.” He introduced them to each other, although Betty didn’t even attempt to get up off the bed. She didn’t want to, she wanted to blink and this whole nightmare would be over, and it would be back to just her and Daniel, maybe their baby. But, certainly not this… Ella person who was staring at Daniel as if Daniel was his leader. What if they had fallen in love with each other, and she was just the unfortunate soul who got kidnapped and then her life was over without even dying.  
  
“nice to meet you,” Ella said, nervously smiling. Betty didn’t respond and looked at her lap. Then back at Ella. Was Ella the pregnant one?  
  
“so, Betty, Ella was hired by matt to pretend to be you. So… because nobody realised in time I did sleep with her, and she is pregnant, but I am really sorry, I understand if you are mad at me,” Daniel sat in the chair that he had vacated moments before so Hilda could be there when Betty woke up while Ella took the other chair.  
  
Betty didn’t know how to feel, she was mad at him, of course she was- he had slept with another woman, and worse yet- he had gotten that other woman pregnant. But it wasn’t the usual circumstances, this woman was pretending to be her, so Daniel thought he was making love to her, when it was actually someone else. Unless he had continued to sleep with her after he found out. Betty must have looked worried because Ella reassured her.  
  
“we stopped… when he found out. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I needed to do this,”  
  
“why?” was all Betty could say. She knew one word wasn’t very specific, but it was important for her to find out what was going on.  
  
“my mother was sick, so I used all my money for school on her treatment, and I met matt then he offered me money for school,” Ella seemed to have forgotten that Hilda was in the room, and Ella hadn’t told her all of the truth. Hilda whipped around from talking to Ignacio, staring at Ella with total confusion on her face.  
  
“erm, what? You told me the money was for your mother, who is sick,” Ella, face to face with an angry Hilda stuttered over what to say as she started to hyperventilate.  
  
“Hilda, calm down!” Daniel instructed, he may not be the happiest with Ella at the moment on account of her lying and scheming with matt, not to mention the mysterious circumstances in which she was having a conversation with matt while pretending to go to the toilet.  
  
“why should I?” Hilda asked, rounding on an even more terrified Ella, but it was Ignacio who stepped in this time.  
  
“because she is pregnant, Hilda. I very much want to hear what this young woman has to say, but she is not going to be able to say it if we are yelling at her, is she?” Ignacio asked, pulling Hilda back to his side. That didn’t stop Hilda glaring at Ella as if her eyes were made of lasers.  
  
“no, I guess not,” Hilda said, gritting her jaw as Ella trembled.  
  
“my Mami was sick, but she is better now, but we have no money, my job cost more than I am earning, and I need to get into school. I couldn’t go because I needed to stay and look after Mami, please. I didn’t realise Betty was in trouble and when I tried to back out it was too late,”  
  
“what about him threatening your family? Was that real?” Daniel asked from across the room, as Betty sunk further into her pillows. Ella  
obviously was used to being the centre of attention, and just because they had the real Betty back it was no reason for change. No one was even looking at her, at least with matt she was kept under constant watch. Even Daniel didn’t notice when she started to cry.  
  
“yes, that is why he was calling me, to find out where I was. I said I was in a café, and that Betty was somewhere else,” she said, leaving all members of the Suarez family that were present sighed in relief.  
  
“so, matt doesn’t know where Betty is?” Daniel said, sounding relieved. Betty tried to reach for his hand but she couldn’t cross the distance to where it was in his lap. Betty couldn’t help but sobbing again, hunching further down into the covers.  
  
“no, but I don’t what to do, he said he is going to go after my family,” Ella sobbed as Betty watched, she was jealous of Ella. Of course, she was! She had been with Daniel all this time, while Betty was hidden away, no one noticing until after a long while.  
  
“I am going to call matt’s mother, she will get him committed or something,” Daniel said, standing up and taking his phone out of his jacket pocket.  
  
“okay, son, go and do that. Ella, would you be willing to stay with us, you may not be our daughter, but it is important that you are cared for. Both my girls know what it is like to lose their mother, so they can understand some of the worry,” Ignacio offered, while Betty froze. She did _not_ want this woman in her house any longer. She might be pregnant with Daniel’s child too, but in Betty’s eyes that only made her worse, she was going to intrude in on her family, as well as her new life with Daniel.  
  
“erm, thank you Mr. Suarez, but I was wondering if I could go home, I want to see my family?” she asked, biting her lip as she seemed overly nervous in asking that simple request. Betty relaxed slightly against the pillows, watching as Daniel stepped out of the room, his cell phone in hand.  
  
“of course, it is important that you are okay with it,” Ignacio said, placing his hand on Ella’s shoulder, then glancing back at Betty, who had wiped away the tears before anyone else could see them.  
  
“yes, although I don’t think my Mami will be very happy about the baby, considering she is a very strict Christian.” Ella said, somewhat morosely but gave them a reassuring smile, nonetheless.  
  
“get Daniel to go with you, he needs to take responsibility for his actions, though I don’t think he is at fault here. He realised before I did, so he did something better than me,” Ignacio admitted, leaving Betty seething with rage. Why were they all being so nice to Ella? Ella had done nothing but lie and deceive her family, she even tricked Daniel into sleeping with her.  
  
Ella nodded, stepping outside the room where Betty could see through the blinds that shielded her room from the corridor. She could see the shadow of Daniel and Ella talking together and feeling more tears come to her eyes. Hilda looked over at Betty, grabbing her nightgown off the back of the chair, it didn’t do much to keep her decent, but it was better than the hospital gown with no back.  
  
“Papi, I need to get Betty ready to go home,” Hilda said, pushing Ignacio gently out of the room. She turned to Betty an expression of sympathy and sisterly-all-knowingness on her face as she sat next to the bed still holding her nightgown. “you hate her, don’t you?”  
  
“Daniel slept with her,” Betty reiterated, as Hilda surely must understand it was one of the things that caused Betty the most grief in this sad, sorry tale.  
  
“yes, he did Betty, but he honestly thought it was you. He was so angry with Ella when he found out she wasn’t you. I had to calm him down,” Hilda explained, trying to look apathetic. Betty knew her sister well, and despite Hilda’s many vices, usually involving hitting someone with her purse it didn’t stop her from doing the right thing… some of the time.  
  
“why is she still here?” was all Betty could ask. She knew the right thing to do, accept Ella because Ella hadn’t done this to her, although matt would have probably not been able to keep her kidnapped for as long without Ella’s help, or maybe longer because they would have no leads, which presumably came from Ella.  
  
“because, she is pregnant with Daniel’s child. And it is your fault he is staying,” Hilda held the horrible, frilly nightgown in her lap, while Betty blanked. How was it her fault? Did she ask for any of this? no!  
  
“excuse me?”  
  
“if you hadn’t made Daniel into the wonderful man he is today then he wouldn’t have stuck around for you or Ella. He didn’t realise, but then he did. Daniel was the one who told me it wasn’t you, he was the first one out of all of us, I am sorry Betty, but you are just going to have to live with the fact that you have a baby who is going to have a half-sibling with a mother that looks exactly the same as you,” Hilda said, trying to hold in a giggle.  
  
“but, why did this have to happen?” Betty asked. Hilda might be on the verge of bursting into fits of giggles, but Betty was on the verge of bursting into tears.  
  
Hilda calmed down enough to talk to her sister. “because, if you get involved with a millionaire-,”  
  
“billionaire, matt’s a billionaire,” Betty corrected, ignoring Hilda’s rapidly rolling eyes.  
  
“fine, a billionaire, then you expect some weird stuff, I mean this isn’t the craziest thing to happen. Look at Daniel’s family,”  
  
“but they are _nice_ ,” Betty said, sounding disgruntled.  
  
“didn’t Alexis push Christina down a flight of stairs?” Hilda asked, as Betty cleared her throat, not wanting to seem like even more of an idiot.  
  
“okay, can you help me into the nightgown, or did you bring any other, _appropriate_ clothes with you?” Betty asked, trying to get up from the bed, even though she was still feeling lightheaded. She was allowed to go home since the effects of being drugged were wearing off, and the baby was still fine. But she was scared to.  
  
“nope, just this, but Daniel is going to carry you all the way to the town car, unless you want a wheelchair?” Hilda said, making sure the blinds were closed for Betty’s privacy.  
  
“I will get the wheelchair,” Betty said, she was too mad at Daniel to have him carry her all the way down, plus she didn’t want to be stared at. If Betty sat down her stomach was slightly more obvious, so she had a readymade excuse.  
  
“okay, Daniel will get it for you,” Hilda said, sticking her head outside the door and calling the reformed playboy, hoping he wouldn’t get annoyed that he was called away on such short notice when Daniel had been more than willing to carry Betty. “are you still mad at him?” Hilda asked, sticking her head back inside the door. Betty shook her head, not saying anything, she had been told what a bad liar she was enough times to not risk it. Still, Hilda knew the truth. “you are mad at him,” she supplied Betty with, frowning at her.  
  
“wouldn’t you be?”  
  
“well, what if one of Daniel’s crazy exes showed up from nowhere and kidnapped him, leaving someone even his incredibly intuitive mother didn’t know wasn’t the real Daniel, and he was mad at your for sleeping with his replacement, even though you thought you were sleeping with the actual Daniel,” Betty could see Hilda had a point, but surely, they couldn’t be _identical_ , not everywhere?  
  
“it is different, because Daniel sees me naked, surely he noticed there was a difference?” Betty asked, leaving Hilda with an ashamed expression on her face.  
  
“he said it is actually really similar, because he was beating himself up about it.” Hilda said wisely, smiling as Daniel returned with a wheelchair.  
  
“hey, it was just down the hall. We can’t take it out of the hospital, so I am going to have to carry you part of the way, unless you want bobby to?” Daniel asked, reaching over to help Betty into it as she was still a bit wobbly.  
  
“no, she will be fine with you. Bobby has a fiancée," she said, pointing to herself "oh, and Betty used to have a crush on him,” Hilda said, smirking. Betty blushed a deep scarlet, glaring at her older sister.  
  
Daniel took the handles of the wheelchair, it was one where you couldn’t push it along yourself, and let Betty recline in the seat, looking exhausted, but it didn’t stop him from bending down to mock her slightly.  
  
“is that so? Ms. Suarez,”  
  
“shut up, Daniel,” she said, sounding annoyed but there was a smile stretching across her face.  
  
“why are you smiling?” Hilda asked, looking over at Betty who was stifling another grin.  
  
“she is picturing bobby, naked,” Daniel said, just loudly enough for Hilda and Betty to hear, but no one else. Betty blushed even more if it was possible, covering her face with her hands ashamedly.  
  
“shut up, I am not!” she said, trying to twist around in her chair to protest properly but Daniel just grinned at her until she properly retorted “I was picturing you,” she said cunningly, knowing that would make Daniel splutter, but apparently, he was so desperate that he just grinned, bending down to whisper something.  
  
“well, who am I to deny you what you really want?” Daniel asked, his hands gently brushing her shoulder and the deep timbre of his voice giving her tingles that she didn’t know how to cope with, apart from letting out a low moan.  
  
“a-hem!” Hilda interrupted loudly behind them as Daniel and Betty sprung away from each other, as if burnt. “this is a public place, wait until you get home, or maybe not, because Ella is staying overnight, and I doubt she will want you two going at it-,” Betty’s affectedness didn’t last long when Hilda said that as she glanced up at her big sister, looking annoyed.  
  
“what do you mean? am I not going to be able to sleep in my own bed?” Betty asked, frowning as Daniel continued to wheel her down the hallway.  
  
“well, Ella needs to stay tonight, so I was thinking you could stay in my room, or at your apartment?” Hilda suggested, Betty didn’t know what to think about that idea, she wanted to be with her family, not just with Ella, but her thoughts were derailed when Daniel stopped pushing her, delving into his pocket to get something.  
  
“shit, shit!” he said, leaving Hilda looking as if she was going to clobber him with her handbag, Daniel even ducked out of the way, holding his phone to his ear.  
  
“erm, what is going on?”  
  
“I have no idea,” Hilda said, taking command of Betty’s wheelchair, it might end that Betty was carried by bobby into the waiting town car. As they got down to the end of the hallway, Daniel jogged back into view. “what the hell was that? I thought you were about to ditch us,”  
  
Daniel was still catching his breath “no, never… I bought the apartment next to matts to get you back Betty,” Daniel said, taking hold of Betty’s wheelchair again.  
  
Hilda, however was not so easily moved along when she heard of that fact, as she stood shock still, Betty felt that way herself, Daniel had bought an apartment just to save her. “you did what Daniel?” Betty asked, reaching up to touch his face in an expression of tenderness and thanks.  
  
“Betty,” he knelt down beside her, waiting for Hilda to catch up to them, “you know I wouldn’t just do that to save you, I would do anything, buy you an apartment, a block of them, even the Meade building,” he said, gently kissing her on the cheek.  
  
“really, you would do all that for me? what about the stuff that doesn’t involve money?” she asked, Daniel’s hot breath greatly affecting her.  
  
“yeah, all of that too. What would you like me to do? Swim the east river? Climb a mountain?” he asked, winding his arms around her side, feeling the fluttering of his child.  
  
“no, just don’t let me get kidnapped again,”  
  
“you know I punched matt out to come and get you, and I am sure if matt ever reappears Hilda will probably beat him to death with her handbag, she was about to do that to me,” Daniel reassured her, giving Betty a gentle hug careful not to squish the baby.  
  
“too right, though this is for your cheek!” she wacked him gently around the head with her handbag before Daniel got up and moved Betty down through the hospital, meeting the motley crew along on their way to the town car, which turned out to be a limo, since there were seven people.  
  
“Betty, you can sit next to your twin,” bobby chuckled as Daniel helped Betty into the limo, she was still really groggy from the drugs, but she would be okay in a little while. Justin, Ignacio and bobby were still having problems with the two Betty’s which wasn’t helped since bobby kept making jokes.  
  
"I just want to go home," Betty sighed, sleepily resting her head against Daniel.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

Betty relaxed on the sofa, dressed in her own clothes with her own blankets over the top of her. She finally smelt like home, the sweet smell of her papi’s flan, as well as the savoury scent of his amazing cooking. Daniel was still on the phone to Victoria Hartley as Ella and the rest of the family were eating at the dining table. She couldn’t keep anything down, which was probably a side effect of being pregnant.  
  
“Betty, are you sure you don’t want anything to eat?” Ignacio asked, smiling as he sat down next to Betty with a plate of his famous flan in his hand. Betty didn’t know what to say because she wanted something to eat so badly, the food at matts hadn’t been the most inspiring. He had done his best, however he cooked most of the dishes himself and most of them were bland and tasteless.   
  
“no, thank you, Papi. I don’t feel so good,” Betty said, holding her stomach as she didn’t want to bring on any other feelings of rottenness. She just wanted Daniel to come back into the room, and comfort her, not spend all his time yelling down the phone to Victoria Hartley, just to keep her and Ella safe. She just wanted him to come back and do all the comforting, she wanted things to go back to how they were before, because that is when things were good.   
  
“Mija, are you sure you don’t need to go to the doctors again?”  
  
“it is just the pregnancy, Ella was throwing up all day,” Betty countered, turning on her side away from Daniel. They could tell the differences because Betty was further along than Ella, as well as Ella having longer hair than Betty, since Betty’s hair had been trimmed to keep up with matt’s memory of her.   
  
“yes, but Ella can keep down my mole!” he said, raising his eyebrows at Betty.   
  
“why don’t you just keep her, I can be the one to go to Chicago,” Betty said sulkily, not looking at Ignacio to make sure she didn’t cry.   
  
“Betty, what is this about? Because you know we all love you so much, but Ella needs to be looked after,” he explained, while Betty still didn’t look at him, she knew it must be a big shock for them and it wasn’t as if she had been tied up in a cellar somewhere, she had lived in luxury where she was waited on hand, foot and mouth.   
  
“I know Betty, but I cannot imagine about having to pretend to be someone else, and I cannot imagine what you have been through,” he said, in the world wise way only her father could do, make her feel comforted with only a few words, because she knew she was safe, and she knew she was loved. But she was worried, she had been gone for over a month and a lot could change in a month’s time, her father was already okay with the idea of her being pregnant, let alone it being the child of one of the most notorious playboy’s in New York. Betty was somewhat disappointed with the lack of wonder and how they were all so glad to have her back, because she was afraid of the truth that they didn’t really miss her, because to them she had never gone.   
  
“I am sure, but Papi, it is just like no one cared,” she finally admitted it, sitting up further on the couch and frowning at Ignacio even though she knew it wasn’t his fault, she was mad at everyone because she was scared, she was scared to think about ‘what if’ what if no one ever realised that she was missing, what if Ella would have had to play at being her forever, been the one to marry and Daniel and raise a family with him, been the one to achieve all of her dreams, because her dreams were far beyond making home with Daniel.   
  
“Betty, we do care. We are just in a lot of shock, it isn’t every day that you realise that you are harbouring the woman who is pretending to be your daughter. I do realise that you went through a lot Betty, but hopefully it will all be okay in the end. I don’t want you going back to work just yet, and Daniel agrees with me,” he said, throwing a blanket over her before he scuttled out of the room. Why wasn’t she allowed to go back to work, she was pregnant, pregnant women go to work all the time. Ella had been going to work while she was pregnant. Although… Ella was about 6 weeks pregnant while she was more like 8 along.   
  
“what?” she asked, but Ignacio was already headed back into the dining room. “Daniel!” Betty decided to channel her inner Hilda, and call after Daniel who appeared to have wandered off with the phone, she needed it because Daniel came out of the back door looking around in confusion, until Hilda jammed her thumb in Betty’s general direction. Betty was sure work would be the only thing keeping her sane, as she had over a month to lie in bed feeling sorry for herself, she wanted to get back to her job and not leave Ella to do it for one second longer.   
  
“what is it, are you okay?” still being early on in her pregnancy she was able to stand up swiftly and jabbing Daniel in the chest. He caught her hands, holding her hands to stop her poking him.   
  
“yes, why can’t I go back to work?” she asked, not feeling sorry for yelling at Daniel, despite him being the one to save her.   
  
“because you have just been kidnapped, and although matt’s mother is going over there right now, to yell at him,” at that Betty smiled slightly, she disliked matt even more than Victoria Hartley right now. He had taken her away from her family, which ended up with Daniel getting someone else pregnant and her feeling like an alien in her own home.   
  
“that doesn’t excuse me from going to work, I need to work Daniel, I have rested for a whole month,”  
  
He steered her to sit down on the couch as he pulled the blanket over her and kept it firmly there even though she tried to tug it off. “Betty, while you may have not been bound and gagged you have been through a lot of emotional stress, I think maybe just a couple of days off,” he suggested, rubbing his thumbs over the palm of her hands, trying to comfort her.   
  
“no, Daniel, I don’t want matt taking any other parts of my life away,” she said miserably, and not looking Daniel anywhere on his face.   
  
“Betty, he may have taken you away from me for a month, but I don’t want you to think that he has taken any other parts away, I just think that you need a little time to recover, because it is really stressful being kidnapped, even if it is to a place even I couldn’t afford.” Daniel said as Betty continued to frown at him, obviously not pleased with his diagnosis.   
  
“Daniel, work is one of the biggest things I missed,” she exclaimed, dropping his hands back into her lap, where he stroked her legs trying to reassure her.   
  
“what about me? was I just a side note?” he asked, jokily, putting his finger under her chin, trying to make her look at him.   
  
“no, of course not. But, while I was there I was just thinking about how I haven’t got that far in four years, compared to Kimmi Keegan who went further in three weeks-,”   
  
“you were thinking about _Kimmi Keegan_ while you were kidnapped?” Daniel asked, smiling somewhat unsurely at her. Betty blushed slightly,  
although he suspected it was more out of shame this time, because Betty knew how much he hated her bringing herself down.   
  
“no, I wasn’t. I was thinking about what I really want to be doing in my job,” Betty said, frowning somewhat irritably at Daniel who sighed at her, not altogether pleased with her either.   
  
“what do you really want to be doing? But you aren’t going back to work until you are a bit better,”  
  
“but Daniel, this isn’t the nineteen fifties anymore, you cannot tell me when I can and cannot go to work!” she expressed angrily, standing up, trying to look fierce in her fluffy pyjamas which had patterned love hearts all over them. She wasn’t succeeding.   
  
“Betty, I am not telling you because I want you to stay here and play house, I am telling you because you have just been kidnapped, baby, I don’t want you to be put in danger again. And until matt is caught, he is a danger to you,” Daniel explained, trying to calm Betty down but she remained angry at him.   
  
“I am fine, I can look after myself,” Betty said stubbornly, but she did look somewhat more subdued.   
  
“Betty, you are pregnant, and just have been held captive by a man who wanted to get rid of your child,” Daniel said, trying to convince her, although he had to keep his voice down because he didn’t want the other’s hearing him. Apart from Ella who had to witness the conversation first hand no one else knew about Matt’s plans for the baby.   
  
“I wasn’t held captive,” she protested, folding her arms over her chest.  
  
“so… you were free to walk out at any point during your stay,”  
  
She flinched, knowing she had dug herself into a very big whole with that one “no, I wasn’t, but it wasn’t like I was tied in a basement.” She said, her voice somewhat patronising. Daniel sighed, rolling his eyes at her, knowing that she was so determined and stubborn there was no use fighting it.   
  
“Betty, I am not doing this to stop you, I am doing this because I want you to experience your life as you want, but if you are going to get kidnapped or hurt it won’t be in anyone’s best interests. Why don’t you take it easy for a couple of days, while Ella can be at MODE-?”  
“no!” Betty quickly hissed, her voice low to avoid detection.   
  
“fine, you can have an official two days off, but Betty I am talking about your health here. Take two days to readjust, and then you can come back and do whatever,” Daniel said, although he was worried because he was afraid he was going to lose Betty. He knew they were skating on thin ice in their relationship since there were things they hadn’t spoken about since she came back, and other things they spoke too much about. And if he lost Betty from the world of MODE he didn’t know where he would stand.   
  
“okay, fine!” she said grumpily, but she did sit down, gently putting her head on his shoulder as she tried to get comfortable, curling up by her side. Daniel watched her press her hand against her stomach like Ella did when she was worried about the baby, although Betty seemed to do it out of comfort instead of reassurance.   
  
“can I feel?” he asked, his hand reaching over and hovering above her stomach just in case she decided against it, but he could feel her gently nod against his shoulder. Her stomach was firmer if slightly bulged, considering she wasn’t far along. He knew Betty had never been self-conscious, otherwise she wouldn’t have worn all of those outfits, so he wasn’t worried about her fretting about the baby weight and other things involved with motherhood. But underneath her pyjamas he could feel a fluttering that he was told was the baby, apparently this one was very active.  
  
“what does it feel like?”   
  
“butterflies,” Daniel whispered, looking into her eyes, as he reached over, his hand still on her stomach and kissed her gently, until they were interrupted.  
  
“excuse me, would you mind being disgusting somewhere else?” Justin asked, raising his eyebrows at Daniel and Betty, who sprung apart hastily.   
  
“Justin!” Betty exclaimed as Daniel blushed even though it was just Justin gawking at him, and he wasn’t gawking any longer as Hilda walked past and slapped him upside the head.   
  
“so, can my wedding go back on?” she asked, waking through the living room, and smiling somewhat hopefully.  
  
“of course, why was it postponed?” Betty asked, turning away from Daniel a look of shock on her face. Bobby came to Hilda’s side looking inquisitive as well.  
  
“I wanted my actual sister at my wedding, not someone else who was pretending to be her!” Hilda said impassioned, but then looked over at Ella who was at the table with Ignacio. “no disrespect to Ella,”   
  
“oh, now I get it. I just didn’t ask in case-,”  
  
“in case, what?” Hilda asked, looking very much as if she was about to round on bobby and start squaring off. Bobby looked embarrassed, not saying anything until the look on his fiancée’s face made him talk.   
  
“it was another baby,” he mumbled, the mood changing from happy to sombre in the blink of an eye, as Betty put her own hands protectively on her stomach.   
  
“oh, well, you must be a mind reader then?” she gave a massive smile in bobby's direction. betty heard the sound of screaming from justin and bobby's delight.   
  
“okay, Betty… do you want to be my plus one for the wedding?” Daniel asked, turning to Betty, and shattering the miserable mood to one of hope.  
  


“who else, Daniel, who else?” she asked, smiling at him as they kissed again, while Justin left the room, mumbling something about age limits on PDA. Daniel just chuckled, looking down at Betty as they kissed again, this time softer and gentler.

  
Ella left for Chicago the next morning, not wanting anyone to trouble themselves by taking the trip with her, although she did promise to call them to say she landed safely. Betty felt as if she was somewhat reminded of her ordeal over henry and Charlie, since she had to watch the love of her life fly across the country to see the sonograms for his child, or the other things she would have to go through as well as Ella would do.   
  
But nobody knew what they were going to do in the end, her child would probably be born first, since she was further along than Ella is, so by the time Ella’s baby would arrive she might already have hers. She didn’t know what she expected Daniel to do, whether or not he should go and be with his child over there, or stay with his other one with her.   
  
When going through the henry debacle, she often wondered what it would be like if she had been pregnant as well as Charlie, she remembers thinking that Daniel would have killed henry if that happened, since she was so concentrated on her career that she would probably not be welcome to starting a family. She thought it might have solved somethings as henry was doing the right thing for Charlie, he would do the right thing for her, only she would have the upper hand of him being in love with her. Now, she was in the situation and was fully realising how it would have only made things a thousand times more complicated.   
  
She knew Daniel wasn’t going to go and live in Chicago just because Ella was there with his child. It was different for him, his mother was here, his job… and even rumours that Alexis was coming back to New York. She could suddenly see it from henry’s point of view, his home wasn’t in New York, and while he may not be in love with Charlie still, it was his child, in his home. Not 4,000 miles away with someone who wasn’t ready for a family.   
  
She wanted Daniel to be involved in Ella’s child, because as much as Ella had proven to be not the nicest of people- with the lying and the collaborated scheming, her baby had done nothing wrong, it wasn’t its fault if it was to be born. She would love that baby as much as her own, because she knew that anything that was part Daniel she was bound to fall in love with, as easily as she had done with the man himself. It didn’t take four years if either of them were honest, it took very little time for it to happen, but a long while for them to fully understand. Daniel had an excuse, he wasn’t always the most observant, or the most in touch with his feelings… or anyone else’s, but she should have realised sooner.   
  
She was annoyed at being made to have a couple of days off, but because Daniel was the boss and her extremely overprotective boyfriend she decided not to argue about it- well, not any further after he threatened to make it two days without pay suspension. He used the excuse he only did that because he cared too much about her, that she didn’t doubt.   
  
So, as she was reclining on the couch in the living room, waiting for Daniel’s return from work she did not expect a Facebook message from henry. Saying he was going to be in New York, and would she like to meet with him? Normally Betty would politely decline, because she wasn’t in any hurry to open any doors between her and henry, but she would quite like to ask his opinion about the whole Charlie situation and how he would have managed if she had also gotten pregnant.   
  
Daniel was very insistent he was not going to leave New York, or her side, but that would mean Ella would have to uproot herself from her family- who really missed her, and come and live in a city she had only gone to because of a kidnapping and blackmail case gone according to plan. She did need a second point of view for this, because it wasn’t just her involved, and she thought that Ella should have the chance for her baby to have a father, whether it be to her own sacrifice she wasn’t sure yet.   
  
So, she messaged henry back, asking if he wanted to meet. His reply was almost instantaneous, as he said Betty should meet him at an old café they used to frequent, one that betty really used to like. But, Betty was terrified of going there, because if Daniel found out he would see it as some sort of payback for him sleeping with Ella, even though they had both agreed to label that as accidental cheating, and it probably was the only situation where that label could be applied.   
  
But, she needed to talk to someone who wasn’t in this situation, she knew henry’s bias would be more reflected on her best interests, considering they had been in love with each other. But this was different, they both had families now… or developing families. She typed back again to him, hoping to get a little more information out of him, before she could agree to anything.  
  
 _Betty Suarez: I need to wait for Daniel to come home._  
  
 _Henry Grubstick: do you want to meet later at café blini? And why are you waiting for Daniel to come home._  
  
 _Betty Suarez: he is staying with me. I would rather tell you when we are at the restaurant._  
  
 _Henry Grubstick: I have Nate with me, do you mind if he comes too?_  
  
 _Betty Suarez: that is no problem. See you in half an hour._  
  
Betty let out a sigh of relief, because it was less awkward than she had imagined talking to henry, although she had made a couple of mistakes, mainly about Daniel and blurting out too much. It would help if henry’s kid was coming too, since they would make sure things didn’t develop too awkwardly between them, or in the wrong direction. She was going to henry for advice, and although Daniel was terrified about her leaving the house just yet because they hadn’t yet found matt, so he was doing it just so his panicky side could be calmed. But she was panicking about the whole Ella situation, shouldn’t that be calmed.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty.

She put on her old boots with the fluffy lining and the pom-poms on them, hoping they would be warm enough and quiet enough not to attract any attention when sneaking out of the house, since Hilda was in her salon catering for a wedding party, since she was spreading rumours about how she was going to live in the city their neighbours had gotten the idea that they should come by and get a haircut while it is still at a queens price.   
  
She did, softly shutting the door behind her as she was glad she didn’t have to slide down the drain-pipe like she did when she used to date henry. She must remind him that this wasn’t an occasion for that, this occasion was to help her know what to do because henry had been in a similar situation, but in his case, the right thing to do was obvious, but here she wasn’t sure there was one.   
  
She found taking the subway was taking too long, but she just hoped henry would wait, while she struggled to remember where she was going, even though it was like it was second nature. Even walking felt strange as she had worn her boots, with a pair of jeans and a fashionable jumper instead of the red dress she had picked out for today, because even Betty knew that would _not_ look good with her boots.   
  
She eventually arrived at the café, noting how good it felt to be outside, even if she was cold because she had forgotten to wear her coat in the sake of looking fashionable. Wilhelmina was right (she never thought she would even think that) beauty was pain. Henry was sitting at one of the tables with his son in his arms, Betty smiled because she was glad there would be some sort of barrier between them to stop anything… else happening between them.  
  
“Betty, hi!” he smiled, standing up and waving awkwardly, oddly similar to some of her memories.   
  
“hello, henry,” she smiled, sitting down. She wasn’t showing at this point, so she was sure the news would be quite surprising.  
  
“wow, Betty… you look amazing,” he said softly, for once Betty didn’t even feel herself blushing because looking into henry’s eyes didn’t make her heart pound uncontrollably, or make her palms sweat like it used to.   
  
“thank you,” her own reply came out curtly, something which she regretted, as there was hurt on henry’s face. She tried to soften her own features “so, is this Nate?” she asked, pointing towards the dark haired little boy sitting on henry’s lap. He nodded happily, smiling down at his son. Betty wondered if Daniel would have the same pride over his children as henry did with Nate, even though Nate wasn’t the child of the woman he was in love with, it didn’t seem to matter.  
  
“yeah, this is him. How are you doing Betty? Still working at MODE?” he asked, letting Nate play with his food while Betty fondly watched on. She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone else she was pregnant, it was too early on, but they needed to discuss this situation.   
  
“yeah, but I am an editor now,”  
  
“wow, congratulations,” he smiled at her, yet again something that did nothing whatsoever for Betty. They chatted amicably for a while, Betty summoning up the courage to tell henry her predicament. She took a sip of the orange juice she had ordered, holding Nate on her lap as henry rifled through his bag for one of Nate’s toys.   
  
“so… henry, I did want to talk to you about something,” she said, watching Nate play with the cutlery next to her plate.   
  
“yeah, are you okay Betty?” he asked, brushing back a strand of his hair that had fallen in his eyes, he seemed to have abandoned the gel on it there.   
  
“yeah, um… I wanted to ask your advice about something.” She whispered, surprised henry could hear her, since her voice was so quiet.   
  
“okay, go ahead.”  
  
“you know I am dating Daniel, right?” henry nodded, it was on her social media anyway, so it was common knowledge. “well, I am pregnant,” she waited for the bomb to drop, but henry simply gave her a shy glance.  
  
“congratulations Betty, but, is this what you needed my advice about?”  
  
“sort of, see, um…” she didn’t know how she was going to explain this situation to henry without telling the truth. “my ex-boyfriend kind of kidnapped me, and got another woman to pretend to be me because she looked like me, and Daniel didn’t realise until she had gotten pregnant, but she lives in Chicago, and I am pregnant too but Daniel doesn’t want to leave me and I don’t know the right thing to do,” Betty said in a rush, worrying about henry’s reaction.   
  
He did seem a bit shocked which wasn’t surprising considering what she had just told him, but he didn’t say anything for a minute. “which ex-boyfriend?” Betty knew he had several things against Gio so Gio would be the one on top of his list for who had kidnapped her.  
  
“matt, the rich one,”   
  
“the other rich one,” henry snipped, leaving Betty looking upset that he was angry about it, however she decided against arguing about it. Henry looked momentarily ashamed “sorry, it is just I was a little surprised you got together with Daniel, considering you were best friends before,” he said, finally getting Nate’s toy out of his bag as Nate reached across the table, knocking over her orange juice, which would have shattered on the floor if henry didn’t catch it in time.  
  
“control your kid!” a lady said crossly from across the table.   
  
“he isn’t my kid!” Betty snapped back, then felt horrible immediately after, which considering all she had been through wasn’t surprising when she started to cry. Henry took back Nate, cradling his son before handing Betty a somewhat soggy tissue.   
  
“sorry about the tissue, nothing ever really dries when you have a toddler,” he explained, but Betty kept on crying if harder at that point.  
  
“sorry,” she wiped her eyes, trying not to cry anymore since everyone was staring. “I just wanted your advice,” Betty said, wiping her tears away again.   
  
“about what?” he asked, holding onto Nate tighter as the toddler was trying to escape from his grasp.  
  
“well, when Charlie got pregnant you went home to do the right thing, but what if I had been pregnant then too?” Betty asked, she knew that situation would never come to light as the possibilities did which invaded her mind during the time she was in love with Betty.   
  
“well, I would have wanted to stay with you, and if that was the situation there would have been no ‘right thing’ to do, so I would have followed my heart, but hopefully Charlie would have still wanted me to be in Nate’s life,” he explained, putting his hand to his head as he was thinking deeply about the situation.   
  
“really?” once again Betty got a glimpse of what could have been, but it didn’t ignite as much excitement in her life as it previously had done.   
  
“yeah, but it seems in your case Daniel is still in love with you, so I think he should stay, you want your baby to be raised in a household of love, right?” he asked and Betty nodded, the tears she had wiped away so hastily coming up to streak her mascara again.  
  
“yeah, of course… I am sorry about snapping at Nate, I am just not ready to be a mom yet,” she felt bad about saying it, since she knew that the baby would be forever loved. But, she wasn’t ready. She wanted to grow in her career still, MODE wasn’t what she wanted her final destination to be.  
  
“it is okay Betty, but you are going to be a mom. I wasn’t ready to be a dad, but here it is, and I couldn’t imagine my life without Nate.” He smiled down at Nate who was playing with henry’s food now. Betty chuckled slightly, smiling at the hyperactive Two-year-old across the table from her.  “do you know what you want yet?” she heard a voice ask, and turned around immediately to see if it was the waitress, but instead it was just henry looking expectantly at her. Betty realised he meant about the baby.   
  
She hadn’t given it much thought, only just having found out, and then with the whole drama of Ella and Daniel, and Hilda and bobby’s wedding. She could go on still… but she didn’t know what else to think, or even what she expected of a baby. To think there was a whole little person growing inside of her was enough to blow her mind. “erm, I don’t mind as long as the baby is healthy.” She said, wanting to seem diplomatic and unbiased.  
  
“yeah, that is what Charlie said, but I wanted a son mainly because I wanted to be the dad I always imagined having.” Henry said as Betty thought about what she would like, she guessed she would like a little girl because she missed her Mami so much, even though she might seem like her father’s favourite right now, but when her Mami had been alive Hilda was very much her father’s favourite.   
  
“I think I want a girl,” Betty said, thinking about her mother. She knew that the baby was still very young, and she was well aware that she wasn’t really supposed to tell anyone at that stage in her pregnancy, unless she lost the baby like Hilda had.   
  
“will you name her after your mother?” he asked, as if the baby was already a girl. Betty was just thinking about that, she didn’t know whether she would because she wanted her baby to be called something where she would start again, even if she did love her Mami there would be plenty of legacy’s that Betty had carried on.   
  
Suddenly Betty’s phone rang and interrupted their talk as it started blaring out some sort of dance song which Daniel had changed his ringtone on her phone to. Crap, she hadn't told anyone she was going to be going out so they wouldn’t prevent her from going, but she couldn’t make Daniel panic all over again. “I need to get this,” she said, knowing it was the right thing to do, otherwise Daniel was probably going to come over to the café himself and drag her back to Queens, or carry her since apparently, she was made of porcelain after she became pregnant.   
  
Henry nodded at her, smiling somewhat awkwardly as neither of them really knew what to say next, perhaps it was a blessing because it interrupted the conversation.   
  
“hello?” Betty asked, expecting the very panicked and angry voice of a certain publishing heir to be down the phone.  
  
“Betty, where the hell are you? I come home with food and stuff about the baby, and you aren’t here. Hilda doesn’t know where you are, she is panicking beyond belief- Betty what is going on?” he said, sounding as if he was running out of words to say before the next bout of shouting.   
  
“Daniel, please don’t freak out-,”  
  
“Betty, saying that doesn’t mean I am not going to freak out, in fact, it probably guarantees it!” Daniel shouted down the phone, so loud that henry could probably hear him as well, which explained the sympathetic glance at Betty.   
  
“okay, henry was in town, and I thought we could meet up to talk for a bit. He brought his son,” she nodded at henry, knowing adding Nate’s presence was important since Daniel was less likely to think Betty was sleeping with henry if a two-year-old was present at the same time.   
  
“Betty, why the hell are you meeting with Grubstick? You know it isn’t safe for you to wander about when some idiot is trying to kidnap you to make you his bride!” Daniel continued to yell, meaning henry and quite a few other people were staring at her.   
  
“Daniel, I wanted to get out of the house, I spent a month in two rooms, don’t you think I wanted to smell the…” she looked outside, realising there was a problem with her saying grass or any other aspects of nature because then Daniel would be really mad that she left the city altogether. “… petrol fumes, I missed the petrol fumes,” she said crossly into the phone, trying to ignore the stares of other diners, as well as henry’s gentle laughter.   
  
“well, you could have smelt them by meeting henry outside your very own front door.” Daniel argued, his voice a lot quieter now.   
  
“you would have let him come to my house?” Betty asked, seeming to forget that she was right in front of the person she was talking about; however, it was astounding. Daniel and henry didn’t always get along very well… or well at all really; so, for Daniel to invite him to her house where he was staying was nothing short of a miracle.   
  
“if it keeps you safe, then I am up for anything. Do you want me to get a town car to come and get you?” he finally asked, as Betty looked down at her empty plate, realising there wouldn’t have to be that much awkward conversation left.  
  
“yes please. I am at the café I like, near…um,” she couldn’t remember.   
  
“the café with the guy who does the cute coffee art? And the one with the nice cookies, because my driver is around the corner from there,” Betty just remembered something, that wasn’t really the end of the world, but she was feeling particularly hormonal that day.   
  
“I forgot to get some cookies!” Betty said close to tears, but Daniel just laughed at her, along with henry who ordered her a few of her favourite cookies.   
  
“okay, well he will be there in a minute, okay, baby. I will see you soon,”  
  
“bye Daniel, my food is here!” she said, hurriedly hanging up the phone as her cookies were placed down in front of her. Henry smiled at her from across the table, as Betty tucked into the food.  
  
“so, about naming the baby?” henry asked, as Betty remembered he couldn’t really drop a subject that well, maybe that is what made him such a good accountant.   
  
“oh, I don’t know. I will probably take suggestions from Daniel, I bet his mom has some good names,” Betty said shyly, through a mouthful of cookie. She felt the fluttering again, reminding her of her child’s presence, it was such a comfort to her, because there were some days where she couldn’t imagine life without them.   
  
“is Mrs. Meade excited?”   
  
“so much,” Betty responded, finishing off one of the cookies as she waited to see the town car outside, since the conversation between her and henry was rapidly turning awkward. She looked out the window again, seeing that the town car had pulled up now as she put her other cookie in the bag, ready to say her goodbyes to henry. “thank you for meeting me, henry. How long are you staying in New York?” Betty asked, pulling her coat back over her shoulders.   
  
“well, I was thinking about applying for a job here,” he said somewhat awkwardly, something Betty thought henry should have told her before she was just about to go home.  
  
“wow, that is awesome henry, I will get Daniel to give you a recommendation. Bye, henry! Bye Nate!” she called running out of the door of the small café. She wanted to get home to Daniel, even if he was going to yell at her the minute she got in. Betty waved again as henry did too, going towards the town car, but then someone stopped her in her path by flinging their arm across her field of vision. Betty stepped backwards, not bothering to look at the intruder as it happened quite a lot in New York, some idiot would decide to hail a cab by sticking their arm out right in front of someone, she looked back towards the café, but henry was more engrossed in Nate than seeing her safely outside. She decided to ask the person to move, but when she turned to face them she realised that wouldn’t be likely to happen. It was matt.   
  
Betty was about to let out a scream, but matt clamped his hand down hard on her shoulder. She looked up at him, terrified for what he was going to do, because the town car driver wasn’t even looking at her now, instead at his phone as he was parked. “finally, Betty- why do you keep running away from me?” he asked, his hand sliding down to hold onto hers. It might have seemed a perfectly innocent action but his grip was strong and was hurting her hand. She felt a cold rush of fear go through her as she didn’t know what to expect next, only that she probably wasn’t going to like it. Keeping a tight grip on her hand she looked at his face, it seemed the lines were deeper as his smile had turned into a grimace. She couldn’t believe this was happening, again! she was so stupid for not listening to Daniel and staying indoors before matt was taken away by his mother.   
  
She was so prepared to scream out for help, but it was like the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth as matt continued to try and drag her away, but he was stopped since someone came out of the blue and wacked him across the face, much like Daniel had done when he had accused them of sleeping together, before they actually were sleeping together. Nate was watching them from the sidewalk, although he didn’t seem to be concentrating which was good because henry was wincing in pain, explaining how he really wished he hadn't done that in front of his son. Henry helped Betty steady herself as the pure fear was enough to totally confuse her. Betty tried to ignore the stares from the fellow pedestrians as the driver had gotten out of the town car, looking a lot like how she felt.   
  
“I am taking you home, I assume that was matt?” he asked, letting Betty lean on him as the other side of him held Nate’s hand. Well, at least Daniel wouldn’t mind henry bringing her home if she actually got home.   
  
“yeah, is he still down?” Betty didn’t want to look around in case he was coming after them, but the whole situation felt surreal, she didn’t know quite what to say.   
  
“erm,” henry started to move her a bit more forcefully towards the car, only stopping to talk when Betty was safely sitting down and could see matt struggling to reach them from the sidewalk. “he got mobbed by pedestrians. Just how mad is Daniel going to be?”  
  
“with you or matt?” Betty asked, curling up as much as she could on the slippery leather seats, not feeling at all well. Henry looked over at her sympathetically, as Nate offered her a bit of soggy rice-cake as his own method of comfort, instead she gave him a cuddle.  
  
“does it matter?”  
  
“he will be happy with you, and want to kill matt.” She whispered, looking up at the face she once loved. But, she was glad to know that even though she was happy with henry and extremely grateful for him to rescue her, but she knew the man she really loved was Daniel.   
  
“I want to kill matt!” henry said, but then looked ashamed “I wish I could have covered Nate’s ears for that, it was bad enough he saw me punch him,”  
  
“he saw his dad being a hero, and saving me. I know you aren’t really a fighter,” Betty said, smiling at henry as Nate crawled over to his dad, smiling as the car picked up a bit more speed. Betty spent the remainder of the car journey hunched up against the slippery seats, trying not to cry. She eventually did cry because Betty figured that it would be inevitable that she would do something emotional, she had always been a crier, but also this was a situation where a good weep wouldn’t go unheeded by even the toughest of people.  
  
They finally drew up in front of her house, where Daniel must have been waiting at the window, because the driver had barely slammed on the brakes before Daniel came rushing out of the house, straight to the car. The look on his face was one of such panic Betty wondered whether or not he knew about matt finding her again.  
  
  “Betty, are you okay?” he held open the door, either not noticing or not caring that he was standing in the middle of the road. Nate, who had been sleeping against his father’s side stirred slightly, so Betty exited the car. It was obvious that she was still crying now, because it was daylight and by trying to hide the sounds of her sobs she had only made the evidence on her face more obvious.   
  
“no,” she said, in a tiny voice as Daniel practically carried her to the front door, then went back and started to speak to henry. Betty didn’t hear what he was saying, because she was swept off by Hilda to a land of a warm bath with new fluffy towels and a dressing gown that wasn’t here that morning. She sat on the closed toilet seat, not ready to do anything just yet because she wanted to tell someone what had happened, it was bad enough that she was treated as some sort of invalid without them knowing that matt had tried to take her again, imagine what would happen when she did tell them.  
  
Eventually Daniel re-entered the bathroom, knocking first but when she didn’t reply he entered anyway, worried about her. He stopped in his tracks, seeing Betty looking so forlorn, so upset. He came and crouched next to Betty, gently rubbing her back and kissing her cheek. It was as if he didn’t know how to comfort her, until she raised her head and spoke instead. “did you tell him off?” she eventually said, and although no tears had fallen down her face she sounded as if she had been crying her eyes out.   
  
“who, henry? No, he told me what he did, and I said thank you because he rescued you again.” Daniel said, kissing her gently on the cheek. Betty didn’t know what to say, Daniel and henry getting along? She definitely felt as if she had stepped into a different world other than her own.   
  
“thank you, Daniel. Why did you have all of this prepared?” she asked, shyly, although she was incredibly grateful for all their loving intentions.   
  
“well… I wanted to get you a couple of things for when you came back, so some new bedding, towels and stuff, and a dressing gown so you can feel a bit better about relaxing-,” Betty couldn’t help thinking that was so sweet of him, but she wondered about something.   
  
“you mean so I am obliged to relax because otherwise I will feel guilty?” she asked, kissing him gently on the lips.   
  
“hmm, yeah that will help too. Anyway, I got a call at work, from Victoria Hartley saying that the ‘young lady who was ordered to be Betty Suarez told my son where she was because apparently, she wouldn’t get paid otherwise. I do not want my son kidnapping that woman again’ so I came home and you weren’t here, then I freaked out, because you weren’t here.” Despite the sombre words of what Daniel was saying his impression of Victoria Hartley was spot on, and actually quite funny so even Betty couldn’t help but laugh a bit more.   
  
“okay, I am sorry Daniel. I just didn’t want to feel trapped still,” she argued, biting her lip and trying to escape not upsetting Daniel.  
  
“I am sorry Betty, I was going to take you out later, ice cream and a fairground ride, although it was going to be a gentle one, because you throw up enough anyway,” he said, holding onto her hands, and giving them butterfly kisses, so gentle that Betty barely felt the fleeting touch of his soft lips against her skin.  
  
“why didn’t you tell me? I would have waited,” she argued, but she didn’t try and move from her position. The dressing gown felt like butter it was so soft, and she was delectably warm at that point, plus she didn’t see it to be necessary.  
  
“because I wanted it to be a surprise. I wanted it to be able to come home, tell you that you can go out and that we are going to have fun, because I love you,” he explained, then bent over the bath and started to swill the water, seeing that it was still warm he smiled again at Betty.   
  
“I love you too Daniel. The only reason I was talking to henry because I wanted a second opinion about our situation,” she said, somewhat ashamedly.   
  
“our situation?” Daniel seemed bemused about that, simply because he was the one who was certain about what he was going to do about this situation, she was the one on the rocks.   
  
“about Ella and the baby- the babies,” she said, as an afterthought, pressing her hand over her own dressing gown clad stomach.   
  
“well, we don’t need to think about that, or ask for any second opinions, because I have cut off all communication with Ella. She told me that she had landed safely and I told her I would be there for her if she wanted me to adopt the baby, or provide help with costs, but nothing else because she put your life at risk.” Daniel said, even though it was rather pompous Betty was grateful for his gesture of help. Ella was indeed the one who ratted her out to matt about where she was going to be, although Betty didn’t know how Ella could have possibly known about her going to lunch with henry.  
  
“thank you, Daniel. Was it actually her, though? The henry thing was very last minute.” Betty explained, looking confused.   
  
“well, it seems Ella might not have a degree in anything yet, but she does have several SAT’s with amazing computing grades, she was able to hack into your account and see you were going to café blini. Sorry Betty, but I am not going to be continuing contact. It also seemed that she was the one who told matt you were in the hospital the first time while everyone was trying to explain to you. It was a good thing I got her phone off of her then, or I might have been explaining an extra visitor, and why I threw them off one of the balconies.” Daniel said, smiling somewhat at that thought. He seemed to be ignoring Betty’s disapproving look.   
  
“it is okay, Daniel. Am I going to get to have this bath?” he looked somewhat disappointed, as if he was expecting to be asked to stay. Well, she was planning to do that, but it was somewhat awkward because her whole family was home, even Ignacio had just come back from work, and Justin had stomped home from school in a foul mood, so he was currently attempting to hibernate in his bedroom.  
  
“yeah, of course,” he made to leave her room, but Betty gripped a hold of his hand pulling him back to her, then kissing him passionately on the lips. 

"you don't have to leave," she whispered in his ear. 


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty

Betty finally breathed out, flushed with sweat and exhausted. Her baby was finally here, she had a healthy baby boy who was currently red, screaming and extremely cross in his daddy’s arms. Betty watched him in wonder, thinking about how she gave birth to that little boy, who she hadn't held yet since she had just done the whole birth thing.

She held her arms out, impatient for the baby to be in her arms. She had no idea what to name him, but then she would have felt that way if she had a baby girl. But, here he was, with the Meade eyes, bright and blue and staring at her as if he didn’t know quite what to make of her. Betty was exhausted and sore but so delighted at the idea of her baby. He was all hers and no one could take him away from her.

“here is your mommy,” Daniel gently lifted the baby into Betty’s arms as she reclined against the pillows, blinking slowly at her son, who was encased in one of the hospital blankets. He would eventually be washed and return to her pink and fluffy, but for now he was happy enough reclining in her arms, looking as if he was about to go to sleep.

Daniel and Hilda were in the delivery room, normally they didn’t allow two birthing partners, but Daniel used his millionaire powers to get both him and Hilda alongside Betty while she was giving birth. Also, because Daniel might faint and the midwives would be too busy to catch him. Hilda smiled at Betty, gently cooing at her nephew and holding onto his tiny fist. “aww, he is so cute. He looks like Justin, but with blue eyes,” she commented, glancing at Daniel who smiled back. It had been plain sailing, the midwives said. Daniel privately thought- because he wasn’t that much of an idiot to actually say it- that the miracle of birth looked anything but plain.

Betty couldn’t help doing anything but smile down at her son in that moment.

Betty held Andrew in her arms, gently placing him in the baby carrier/ stroller as she was preparing to go to Hilda’s. Daniel had been excused from the gathering of all the females at Betty’s father’s house, and a few stray males that hadn't managed to escape like he had. He did have to go to work, to sort out something urgent, but she was busy with her new job at the New York review to really know what was going on with MODE, and the baby too.

“are you going to see your aunty Hilda today, yes you are!” she cooed, strapping Andrew into the baby carrier and gently placing the blankets over him as she had to put him in the car, where Daniel would drive them to Hilda’s house, before going off to work.

“is he ready?” Daniel asked, standing over Betty with a bag of all the essentials. Parenting had been all they had dreamed about so far, but Andrew was only three days old, discharged from the hospital in the afternoon of the day Betty had given birth since it went so smoothly. He had been a good baby, crying only when it was necessary, but as Hilda reminded them it was only going to get worse from there, with the lack of sleep and the screaming. Hilda joked that is how she knew Justin was going to be an actor, considering the pair of lungs on him. Betty didn’t remember much of when Justin was a baby but she did have vivid recollections of the screaming.

“yes, we are all good to go. How long are you going to be at work, because Papi is making dinner?” she asked, fussing with his blanket again, Daniel had to be the one stopping her fussing hands as he brought them to her lips, kissing them, like he did for his son when he was wailing, his little fists flying in the air.

“I will probably be back around midday, it is only nine in the morning, Betty.” He reasoned, pulling Betty to him again for another breath-taking kiss. They couldn’t do anything else at this point, so soon after giving birth, but Daniel could rile Betty up plenty.

“good, I think bobby wants some company, as Justin is actually going to be around for this event.”

“so, he managed to tear himself away from Austin?” Daniel asked, smiling down at Betty. Justin had to be surgically removed from Austin’s side, since they spent so much time together. But, Justin wanted to see his brand-new baby cousin, since his mother was going to be giving birth in about a month, with everyone (Hilda) being really impatient for the baby to arrive. Betty thought Justin was avoiding his mother because anyone she captured she would try and make them help her with deciding a baby name.

“no, Austin is going to be there as well, all eyes on Andrew, it seems. What do you have to do at work?” Betty asked, pulling her hair back into a pony tail as she took the bag from Daniel, all the necessary items for baby care in there. Their son was thankfully asleep at the moment, only waking up at the sound of the door slamming shut.

“hello?” came the unmistakably Scottish reply of Christina, who was currently walking through the front door with a toddler in her arms.

“Christina!” Betty yelled, leaving Andrew in his car seat, and reaching over to hug her friend “what are you doing here?” she asked, taking Will from Christina’s arms and hugging him too.

“well, this one invited me, didn’t he?” she said, smiling and pointing at Daniel, who reappeared from around the door, smiling shock when he saw Christina.

“oh, I forgot!”

“you forgot me, huh? Well, isn’t that a nice greeting?” she asked, looking over to where Andrew was awake, his small hands shooting into starfish as he started to whine.

“sorry,” Daniel scratched the back of his head, remembering why Christina was here. “I invited Christina to see if she wanted to come and see the baby, I thought if you had had him already then she could come to visit him, but if you hadn't she could be with you when you gave birth.” He shrugged, then wobbled when Betty slammed into him at full speed.

“thank you, Daniel! Was it supposed to be a surprise?” she asked, her arms tight around his waist. He gently kissed the top of her head, turning his attention back towards Andrew who was currently squealing, shocked by the sudden attention.

“yes, I just forgot because of this little man. Sorry, Christina, we do have a guest bedroom though!” he smiled at her, picking Andrew up from his car seat and holding him close to his chest, as Andrew stopped crying.

“good, good. Is it all made up?”

“Hilda stayed the night we got out of hospital, but I made it after that. I just have to go to work today,” he handed Andrew over to Christina who was clamouring to hold the baby as Betty smiled at Daniel.

“all the women, Mrs. Meade, Amanda, Hilda, bobby, bobby’s sister and Elena, as well as Justin are going to be there, oh and his boyfriend Austin, and maybe marc.”

“ooh, Justin finally told you? I could have told you that years ago, that kid had the best eye for fashion I have ever seen,” Christina rocked Andrew in her arms, smiling down at him and cooing like everyone did when they saw a baby. Will wasn’t best pleased about his mother’s attention to Andrew and tugged on Christina’s pants, whingeing.

“yeah, I know. But, we are all really pleased, I think Hilda is actually relieved.” Betty said, trying to divert Will’s attention towards her.

“yeah, I would be if he was mine. I do not want him to end up like some of the kids where I lived growing up, getting girls pregnant and not knowing what to do, because the girls dad would no longer threaten them with a shotgun if they didn’t try and marry them.” Christina sighed, rocking Andrew in her arms.

“well, this one better not do that, otherwise I am going to be very angry,” Betty said, in a baby-voice to Andrew. Daniel supressed a chuckle, knowing if Andrew was his son there was a high possibility to high-jinks, even Alexis got up to them, despite her yearning for another lifestyle.

“yep, now, I really have to get to work, also Alexis might be dropping by,” he said, leaving Betty to glare at him as he put Andrew back in his car seat, ready to take him to the car.

“Alexis?” she asked, as Daniel had forgotten a very important fact, one which might explain why Christina and Betty were both staring at him, scowling.

“yeah… she wants to see her, oh!” Daniel said, looking awkwardly at Christina. “okay… so, Alexis is just going to be staying at Meade with me, she wants to move back here, and I need help with the financial stuff, but she can see Andrew later. Sorry, I didn’t think, although for the record she does say she is very sorry.” Daniel admitted guiltily. Christina looked mildly annoyed, however she dismissed him soon enough, getting into the back of the car with Andrew on one side and Will on the other.

“where to first, Daniel? am I going to have to face up with that sister of yours? By the way, did you invite her too, because I thought Betty was the one to have pregnancy brain?” Christina asked, strapping in Andrew more securely as she was the practiced one in this, although they had used Ignacio’s cabbage patch baby Jesus to practice on, but it wasn’t the same compared to a fussing Andrew, although they had only had to put him in it thrice so far.

“no, she was coming on business, and I called you before she even told me. She is staying at my mom’s apartment, so you won’t even have to see her,”

“I should hope so too! It wasn’t just me who could have been hurt, it was this one too!” she pointed at Will who was currently playing with a Barbie doll that was bedecked in Christina’s designs.

“I am really sorry, if it helps I didn’t speak to her for a long time after that. I did speak to DJ a lot though,”

“well, just as I don’t have to talk to her. Just how many people are going to be at your dad’s?” Christina asked, cooing over Andrew as Will was trying to crawl onto his mother’s lap, displeased that Andrew was getting all the attention.

“erm, about twelve with you two, maybe count it as thirteen because Hilda is so big now you could count her as an extra person, oh and there is me, Andrew and Daniel yet to come” Betty smiled at Christina who was still playing with the baby still.

“oh god! Right, can Will have a nap in your room?”

“yeah, of course, I don’t know if all of them are going to turn up. But Daniel is coming after work, he finishes about midday.” Betty said, trying to comfort her friend. Daniel chuckled, he was looking forward to dinner at Ignacio’s, where there would be more than enough food, even for such a large house.

“you still going to work? Why are you going there instead of supporting your… wait, Betty is that a ring on your finger?” Christina asked, looking down at Betty’s hand. Betty had forgotten to inform Christina of the recent engagement between the two of them.

“yep! Me and Daniel got engaged, it was a really lovely story, apart from the moment when I gave birth,”

“you gave birth during your engagement?” Christina asked, laughing as Andrew clutched hold of her finger, burbling something akin to impending tears.

“not really…  she just went into labour!” Daniel said, he, himself had been rather surprised when Betty had started having a contraction just before she said yes, or that is what he hoped she had said. It was a bit hard to hear when Betty was moaning in pain.

“oh, well done, luv!” Christina laughed, as they got to Ignacio’s house. Christina got out first, holding Will’s hand as he toddled up to the front door, as she detached Andrew from his car seat. “are you leaving the seat here?”

“yeah, I will have Daniel bring it inside when he gets home. The stroller attachment is in the back,” Betty exclaimed, as she nearly fell out her door. Once Daniel had finished laughing, she waved goodbye, walking with Christina and her baby boy into the house.

When they got in there was a chorus of squealing, with everyone coming up to welcome the new baby, Andrew, who wasn’t expecting all the attention started to cry rather loudly, so Will got a lot of fussing too. Betty sat back on the couch, holding Andrew in her arms, as he cried, wanting to be fed. “aww, what a handsome grandson!” Claire walked over to Betty, fussing over Andrew who was now properly screaming.

“oh, I have a bottle in my bag for him, I didn’t want to breast feed in front of everyone.” Betty said, reaching over to get the bag. She did want to, but she was certain Justin would have some choice words to say, and marc would probably faint- the last time he saw boobs he did.

“it is okay, luv, I used to do it all the time- no one really cares,” Christina said, as there was a general twitter of agreement, while Betty smiled. She loved being part of a large family, with everyone coming and conversing over matters that weren’t particularly important, just… they were, to them. She liked being able to talk to people without feeling like a profile, even if Amanda was here and cooing loudly at Betty’s son, but despite most of MODE’s staff scorning her for her eyebrows, braces and trademark glasses the only time she had ever been called ugly Betty was in her mind, when her personality was horrid.

“so, I guess Christina knows about the engagement then? What a story, huh? Giving birth while Daniel is down on one knee?” Hilda said, sitting next to Betty as they played pass the parcel with Andrew, who was currently voicing his disapproval.

“well, do you want to know the other parts of it?” Betty asked, bending over to get Andrew’s bottle out of his bag, to try and calm the fussy baby.

“yes please!” Christina said, as Betty started to feed Andrew, him guzzling greedily from the bottle.

“well…” Betty flashed back to only a few days before, before Andrew decided to make his debut entrance, where there was a very exciting surprise date to be had.

A few days before…

Betty sat down on the chaise in Daniel’s office, she hadn't been back there for a while, since Betty had gotten the job as a junior editor at the New York Review. Since she lived with Daniel, she didn’t need to be around him every day at work too. But, he was taking her out on a date so she needed to be present and correct. And wearing this hideous purple thing that Christina had tried to make her wear to a club about three years before hand, she didn’t want to wear it, but the maternity dress she was supposed to be wearing had red wine spilled down the front of it.

Things had changed a bit in their lives, Tyler had gone off on a drunken rampage which ended up with Wilhelmina getting shot and marc ugly crying into her stomach- because it was better than a pillow, apparently- but then Tyler did the rehab thing, coming out the other side like a true Meade. That is what to say suffering in silence.

Betty did miss out going to London, which made her disappointed because she missed out on a chance to see Christina, however, Hilda’s wedding was fantastic, she and Daniel had danced the entire night, while Daniel had this annoying habit of broadcasting everything they were doing to her stomach, saying that he hoped that their child would have her intelligence, and his teeth.

“what are you wearing?” he asked when he walked into the room, glancing at Betty.

“can’t you see what I am wearing?” she responded, pulling the ridiculous furry garment away from her body and let it fall back to her sides. Daniel grinned at her, seeing it was quite sexy, even with the weird material. It was quite sexy because it only came up to her thigh, well, the top of her thigh. To further emphasise how short, it was Amanda commented on how her sock was longer than it (she wasn’t wearing any socks, and just a dress that could have been used for footwear for her, even with her tiny feet)

“yeah… I am just wondering why you are wearing it, we are going to a really nice restaurant, and you don’t need to dress up as a butterfly again, what happened to that nice red dress?” he put some paperwork down on his desk, then glanced up at Betty who was looking as if she was about to cry. “baby?” he asked, coming over to her side, and rubbing her arms gently.

“you think I’m ugly?” Betty looked as if she was about to cry, her eyes were already red ringed underneath her eyeliner. He encased her in his arms, trying to cheer her up without making things worse.

“excuse me, I do not! I think you are beautiful, in or out of that dress, although I would have to say I would prefer you out of it, and anything else,” he said, kissing her on the cheek, but those kisses migrated down to her neck, making her shiver.

“thank you, Daniel. Do you have anything else, in a… maternity size?” she asked, looking down at her distended stomach.

“possibly, I think Amanda is altering something for her own impending pregnancy,” Amanda was four months along, but barely showing at all.

“I am not Amanda’s size, and I don’t think she realises how much her ass is going to grow during this pregnancy,” Betty chuckled, knowing Amanda was back with Tyler after his stint at rehab, and they too were pregnant, it was very early on, but that didn’t discourage Amanda, who was tremendously excited for the ever-growing pregnancy.

“well… yeah, I don’t doubt that, but you can wear whatever you want, baby, I just want you to have a good time tonight. It isn’t easy when you are so far along, I know-,”

Betty stared at him in astonishment as Daniel realised his misplaced sympathy “you don’t know, I am not ‘so far along’ but a week from my due date.” Betty said, cradling her stomach and growling at Daniel.

“sorry, I love you,”

“huh, ‘sorry, I love you’. I think I like that,” Betty smiled, reaching up to encircle Daniels neck with her faux fur arms.

They eventually did get a new dress for Betty, having somewhat of a difficulty, since the MODE maternity sizes were more for three months gone pregnant, not nine. In the end, it was a deep burgundy dress, with a few ruffles on the bottom of it, making Betty look amazingly beautiful.

“ready?” Daniel asked, as he led her to the town car, Betty could tell he was excited, and she knew why, it had been difficult to find the right time for Daniel to propose, because a lot of the time their dinners were interrupted, by a whole cast of people who had to ‘urgently’ talk to them. Then there was the cancelled date when Betty couldn’t go to this beautiful restaurant because she had to help her dad make cupcakes.

“you bet.” Betty whispered, leaning into Daniel’s side as they entered the town car.

They eventually arrived at a restaurant that seemed strangely familiar to Betty, it was the Pemberley inn, where she was supposed to meet up with henry all those years before on her birthday, of course, Daniel knew this, she had told him the minute he had taken off the love blinders that had nearly resulted her getting burnt to a crisp.

“Daniel, why did you bring me here?” she asked, getting out of the town car, and holding her stomach.

“well, how I realised that you Ella wasn’t you, is by a dream, where I relieved your birthday- you know the one that henry stood you up on. In my dream, there was my own version so I wanted to re-enact the date,” he said, kissing her again as the maître-d led them to their table.

“really, Daniel? aww, that is so sweet!” she said, gripping a hold of his hand across the table. She could have sworn that Daniel was blushing, it didn’t help her confidence for the night, since excitement had turned into nerves. What if this was simply a very extravagant date? What if Daniel had changed his mind about the whole situation? Betty was starting to panic now.

They got through the meal well enough, Betty was thankful that they served portions suitable for humans, not anorexic mice. This calmed her slightly, awaiting what she hoped would be a concert in the park.

“now, erm, there isn’t a concert and fireworks, just a concert, but we can have our own fireworks if you want?” he asked, winking at a blushing Betty who mentioned something about being in a public place.

“… that is okay Daniel, I really would like that, I am worried about it bringing on labour though,” she looked down at her stomach fearfully.

“Betty, you are five days away from your due date, it isn’t a problem if you are this early!” he said, kissing her slowly again, only to be pushed away in the town car, he didn’t say anything but only glanced over at Betty, clutching a hold of her hand.

They arrived at central park, watching the orchestra play, the fresh park air, so detached from the city even if it was in a very central area of New York. The music seemed to reverberate through the air, calming Betty if it wasn’t for the pain shooting through her body. She dreaded to think that it was the contractions, it was too early, even if Daniel said it wasn’t… and the doctors said it wasn’t a problem.

She sleepily leant against Daniel, until there was a swell in the music, and Daniel stood up, waking up Betty as he did so. “Daniel? what is going on?” she asked sleepily, and rubbing her eyes before she realised Daniel was on one knee in front of her. She covered her mouth with her hand, smiling happily at him through her woven fingers.

“well, I was doing the surprise proposal, but I do need an actual yes… or people will continue to stare,” he said, quickly swivelling his eyes around as people were staring and pointing.

“oh, let them stare, this is one of the happiest moments of my life.” She smiled, then bit her lip as she felt another contraction coming on. Luckily Daniel just thought she was being coy, and not having another contraction. Betty gripped the picnic blanket with her small fingers.

“well, what do you say?” he asked, smiling at Betty as she stood up in the typical position.

“erm… yes, of-,” Betty was cut off by a sudden pain again, it was another contraction. And this one Daniel definitely noticed, after sliding the ring onto Betty’s finger. He quickly caught her in his arms as Betty’s knees gave way.

“baby time?” he asked, this was their little code for contractions, as Hilda kept saying when she was in labour with Justin she could barely utter two syllables, let alone a whole complicated ritual. So, ‘baby time’ it was. Daniel also said it made his kid sound like a superhero.

“yes,” Betty breathed out, luckily some helpful people had come over to try and assist as Daniel called an ambulance, it was a bit difficult since there had been some sort of vehicle accident, causing major disruptions, but they managed to get to the hospital where his son was born.

Present.

Daniel sat at his desk, going over Alexis’s signing of the proposals and plans for her to be the CFO. He did miss his sister, somewhat, and was reminded of that when she showed remorse over what she did to Christina, and how she was happy to wait to see her nephew, just as long as Daniel got to see his, where DJ was going to be staying with Alexis and his mom, since Daniel’s house only had three bedrooms, one of which Christina and Will would be occupying.

“so, is this all set then?” she asked, coming out of the ladies’ bathroom, in her typical business attire which made her dwarf even Daniel, since she had stilettos that would put Amanda’s shoes to shame.

“yep, you are good to go. It is brilliant to have you back,” Daniel said, smiling happily as he shook his sisters hand, both of them making their way out of the lobby and into separate cars. Alexis sped off in the hire car she had, while Daniel was looking forward to going home, putting his feet up and seeing Betty and Andrew. Maybe Andrew would be awake for a cuddle?

He was so happy to have a son, although Betty did want a daughter she was delighted as well, and wouldn’t let anyone else cuddle Andrew when she got him in her arms, but then her sister wanted to hold him… and, he couldn’t go home, he had to go to Hilda’s. Luckily, from Betty’s assistant days he had memorised her home address, but before he could put it into his GPS (it had been a while since he had driven to Queens) his phone rang. He knew he was a little late already, so was preparing to get yelled at by Betty, instead the phone call was a lot more traumatic than he would have guessed.

“hello, this is Daniel Meade,” he said into his phone, trying to be business-like, however instead of hearing Betty’s response of ‘I know who it is, why aren’t you here yet?’ he heard a bossy feminine voice.

“hello, this is a nurse calling from Bellevue hospital…”


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty

Bellevue hospital… that was where Betty had Andrew, was there something wrong with her? he tried to stop his mind racing and focus on what the nurse was saying, her voice coming out as a warning through his phone.

“hello, this is a nurse calling from Bellevue hospital, you were listed as an emergency contact. Can you come to the hospital?” she asked, and Daniel nodded frantically before talking. When he did talk, he was sure it was a mouse squeak as he felt as if his throat had closed up in fear. What could have happened? There were so many people that he cared about, that he couldn’t stand to lose. Sometimes he mused over the reason for becoming a playboy, but despite all the excuses he made about how it was just a mark of a man who loves women, it was also because he struggled when he was too attached to someone, he couldn’t let them go.

“sure thing,” he whispered, as she hung up. He was making a quick detour before going to Hilda’s house. He just hoped Betty would be okay, but he couldn’t do anything about the New York traffic as he joined the street. It did slow him down a lot, and considering he was already late for the dinner that was one more thing to worry about. He didn’t know why he was worrying about that, since most of the people he loved or cared about where at Betty’s house.

Daniel rushed into the ER, going straight to the reception desk, he didn’t know if it was the right place to go for where he had been called, but as much as he hoped it was nothing serious there was a big chance it could be. Daniel was just working to regain his balance as he was nearly falling sideways at the reception desk, knowing the receptionist was giving him a strange look.

“are you okay, sir?” she asked, her voice high and tinny, it sounded like the alarm bells going off in his brain.

“yes… I just,” he gasped out. Daniel felt as if he was on a high wire, stranded above the ground since there was no one to rescue him, no one was going to come to his aid.

“do you need some assistance?” she asked, her face wrought with concern as if she had just encountered a mental patient, reaching for the telephone, but Daniel blinked through the haze of panic in just enough time to stop her.

“erm, no. I am Daniel Meade, I was called in, by a nurse as someone’s emergency contact,” he managed to gasp out, feeling somewhat of a weight be released from him as he asked about it. For the whole ride, Daniel had been silent with rage that the traffic would not move, and although it was his car- who was he kidding, he may have bought the car but it was Betty’s- she might object to Daniel putting his fist through the window.

“of course, Mr. Meade, a nurse will be with you shortly.” She smiled at him, tucking back her frizzy brown hair, so like Betty’s it hurt.

“just before I wait, is it my fiancée, Betty?” he asked, but the nurse looked confused.

“you are going to have to fill out some forms before I give you any information,” she said, bringing over paperwork on a clipboard where the pen was stuck on by some old sticky tape, gritty with fluff. He was just getting more and more worried, which probably accounted to him filling out the form in under a minute, writing so fast he thought his fingers were going to break. He just wanted to make sure Betty was okay, and to do so he needed to find out the information fast.

He gave it back, now twitching nervously with anxiety which didn’t help when another nurse led him down another corridor until he got _another_ ward. They all seemed too polished, too empty as is his mind was scattered. He had stopped looking at the names of the wards now now, because it was just distressing him- it all made it so much more real. The nurse who was leading him seemed nice so he decided to ask her.

“excuse me, is this about my fiancée, Betty Suarez?” he asked, as the nurse looked up at him, slightly confused.

“Betty Suarez? No, this is to do with Elizabeth Torres? To mean to say you don’t know her, but you are Daniel Meade, son of Bradford Meade, born on-,” he was sure he didn’t need to hear the rest, simply because it was just now frivolities.

“yeah, I am him, and I know Elizabeth Torres, what does this have to do with her? I thought she lived in Chicago?” Daniel asked, but the nurse looked disapproving, and turned around, leading him into another office. This one had windows behind the desk, as the nurse sat down, smoothing out her uniform.

Daniel had been having sparse contact with Ella, after finding out that the child was indeed his as the result of the paternity test, although her lies kept being exposed until Daniel was almost so angry that he nearly refused to pay for her child. A child that he wanted nothing to do with, just because it came from the woman he was the angriest at. She didn’t have a sick mother at all, she was just making that up since she knew about Betty’s real mother, she had only done this because she needed the money to go to college, which she had been dithering over because she wanted to find a rich boyfriend to pay for it. Betty didn’t mind that they hadn't spoken a lot, although she was worried about what would happen to Ella’s baby.

“sorry, we were under the impression you already knew, since you were one of her emergency contacts. We called her family first, however they wanted you to be contacted, since they didn’t want any other involvement in the matter,” she said, her gentle nature had turned to a much more business-like tone. Daniel didn’t mind so much because he knew it wasn’t about Betty, and it might simply be that Ella had had the baby.

“oh, of course, so, has she had the baby?” there was a surprise mix of elation and fear. Was this why he had been called to the hospital? Was it all okay?

“yes,” the nurse looked up at him, Daniel’s mood of despair being vanished by something else, this was hope. He had another child, he had known this all along, but after losing touch with Ella because he realised that she wasn’t a nice person he didn’t think she would want him near the child. Daniel was providing financial support, and had been discussing with Betty whether or not to take the child in because it was the right thing to do. She was firmly against it, she had repetitively insisted that dealing with Andrew was enough for them, they didn’t need another child and their psychotic mother in the mix.

“awesome, so, I am here to see the baby?” he asked, looking hopefully around as if it would just magically appear in the office. He might get a cuddle and organise some sort of routine with Ella so that he could see his child. Betty was going to be mad about him being late, but she should understand if he told her he had rushed to the hospital thinking it was her.   

“Mr. Meade! Please don’t… go ahead before I have told you the full story. Unfortunately, as a result of a traffic accident she passed away, earlier today, but her daughter is fine. You are listed as her father on the birth certificate, so you gain custody of the child.” A traffic accident, Daniel felt something click, on the night Betty had gone into labour there had been major disruptions as a result of a traffic accident, but was it the same one?

“her- her daughter?” Daniel stammered, looking shocked for a moment, he had a daughter… and a son. He couldn’t wrap his head around it, but, Ella was gone… Ella was gone, and he had custody of his daughter.

“yes,”

“how did she name me as the father?”

“unfortunately, due to the nature of the accident there was an embolism that resulted in death, it was from one of the complex fractures.” The nurse said briskly. Daniel felt somewhat confused, they didn’t determine that she had a blot clot?

“isn’t that called medical negligence?” Daniel asked, unwisely.

“I am one of the doctors who dealt with Miss. Torres,” crap, she was a doctor, not a nurse- there was sure to be a lecture on gender equality behind that, probably being done by Betty. “because of the labour, which despite the accident was very long, we couldn’t do a CT scan until the baby was delivered, and by then it was too late. Embolisms are often very sudden, and without prior indication, but she did name her daughter, and provide details for her birth certificate, any other details her family had filled out.” the doctor informed him, fitting Daniel with an icy glare. Daniel shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“are you sure her family wants me to look after the baby?” Daniel asked. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be part of this baby’s life, but Betty was somewhat iffy about looking after Ella’s child, mainly because of the association to Ella. Hopefully, Betty wouldn’t mind him bringing home his daughter.

“yes, Mr. Meade, her family do not want any further involvement with the child,” Daniel was terrified of a potential custody battle between Ella’s family and his own.

“okay, when was she born?” he asked.

“on the nineteenth.” The doctor said, looking down her nose at Daniel. He flinched slightly under her gaze.

“that is the same day my son was born,” Daniel exclaimed, then all the thoughts of the practicalities rushed into his head. How would he explain it to the baby when she was grown up? That she was only here because her biological mother was someone who pretended to be her other mom, and daddy accidentally got her pregnant, but she died and that is why you live with us pretending to be the twin of my other kid.

“well then.  Would you like to see your daughter?” she asked, moving her chair aside as Daniel nodded, following her out of the room and down the hallway towards the nursery.  The doctor stepped into the nursery, as Daniel looked at the babies in their cots along the room. The doctor stopped at the farthest cot, where a very tiny baby was in there, dressed in a pink baby-grow with tiny scratch mitts on, and a pink blanket up to her tummy. He stopped short, she was much smaller than his son, but then again, his son was a bigger baby, but she was tiny, with wispy black curls on top of her head, but there was quite a bit of hair.

“she is so small,” Daniel whispered, seeing the tiny baby quiet as she was asleep.

“she was a low birth weight, but healthy enough to leave, if you have all necessary equipment to take her home-,”

“I have a new born, we have everything, my fiancée went a bit mad with the baby stuff,” he smiled, he loved being able to called Betty his fiancée, it is something he had wanted for quite a while.

“right, would you like to hold her?” the doctor asked, lifting the baby out of the cot and handing her to Daniel. Despite being so small she was a solid weight in his arms as he gently cradled her, this reminded her, she was real. She was his.

“she is so beautiful,” Daniel whispered out, rocking her slightly in his arms as she woke up slightly. Daniel smiled again, seeing bright blue eyes as she opened them. She had his eyes, just like Andrew and most of the Meades.

“yes, would you like to sit down?” she led him to the chairs that lined an adjacent room, as he still held his daughter in his arms, watching as she stirred slightly in sleep. “you are going to have a copy of her birth certificate, as well as details about Miss. Torres’s medical history.” She said in a business-like tone, stepping out of the room, as she was going to look at the paperwork. Daniel stared down at the little girl in his arms, forgetting he was now extremely late for Betty.

The baby woke up, and soon she started to fuss, her tiny hands flailing the best they could in the slightly too big baby-grow. The doctor returned, with a copy of paperwork and certificates. He looked down at the name of her, it was Anabel, Anabel Meade. Anabel Meade, she had his last name, Daniel was happy because he couldn’t remember sleeping with someone with the same name as that, and because it was a beautiful name.

This was his daughter, who was blinking up at him with her big blue eyes. Daniel was sad that he wasn’t the first one to hold her like he was with Andrew, but he would make sure she knew she was forever loved. Her mother had died, before she could even remember her own name, but Betty would hopefully sympathise. She missed her own mother terribly, and he knew that his mom had almost become sort of a substitute to her.

“hello, Anabel, your new mommy is going to love you, even if she is a bit cross at first. But, she won’t be cross with you, she is going to be cross with daddy, because he doesn’t think things through,” he gently cradled her head as Daniel held her in the crook of his arm, imaging what Betty would say about Daniel being impulsive. The doctor returned, the sour look on her face softening when she saw Daniel with Anabel.

“here is all her documentation, of course, the hospital will have medical records of everything, including all her due vaccinations. She is due for a feed; would you like to feed her?” she asked, smiling at Daniel as she handed him a manila envelope.

For the next half-an-hour, Daniel was at the hospital, fussing over Anabel, and feeding her. He eventually got ready to take her home, although he realised he would have to get another stroller for her, maybe he would be able to do that today, he was late for Betty but being enamoured with his new daughter made him completely forget that, and that his phone was on silent. He got some of the blankets from the car, as well as her hat from the hospital. The doctor said that her clothes came from Ella who had brought some baby stuff, apparently knowing Anabel was a girl.

She was sat in her car seat, as Daniel went to a bulk store. He and Betty had gone there earlier when they were shopping for Andrew, who was still being uncooperative so they had no indication of the sex of the baby. They had decided on a black pram, the state of the art model (Daniel didn’t know you could have state of the art prams) which Andrew seemed to be enjoying.

He looked in the rear-view mirror, to see that Anabel was asleep, her little face scrunched up as she slept. He pulled into the parking lot, realising he was going to have to put the stroller, with detachable car seat together, something he had only done as a practice, as Andrew hadn't needed it yet. She did wake up slightly, not crying, just blinking at him as if he had insulted her by waking her up. There was this particular stroller that Betty had wanted, it was red and white, not as fancy as the other one, but pretty high end. It was also one of the ones with a detachable car seat. He was getting that, but she could share the crib with her brother.

All the time he was doing this he had a very cross Anabel in her stroller, since she couldn’t fall back to sleep with everyone milling about. Daniel looked down at the list he had made while organising taking Anabel home. Formula, since Betty was breast feeding Andrew, and Anabel needed to be fed as well, since she was already getting hungry. He just hoped that Hilda would let him use her bottle washer.

Daniel got back in the car, the pram taking almost double the time to fold down as it did to resurrect it, but finally he and Anabel were in the car, and ready to go to Hilda’s. Daniel had been forced to give up all ideas of cars with a backseat, but little boot space, since he was coming back with another stroller, and detachable car seat, that was already in the back (he didn’t know how he was going to get home) as well as some diapers, since Andrew’s would be too big for Anabel. He just hoped Betty wouldn’t kill him before he had the chance to explain.

Which was seeming less and less likely, especially when he listened to the voicemail via the Bluetooth. There were nine of them, just from Betty, the rest were from what he assumed to be angry family members. The voicemails kept on getting angrier and angrier, until it got the last two, where she sounded worried. And the last one that was probably just made up of her saying how much she loves him, and sorry for shouting on all the other voicemails.

This was bad, he didn’t mind it when she was mad at him, he could cope with that since he would just show her how adorable Anabel was, but he didn’t want to worry her, it wasn’t good for her or Andrew or anyone else. He loved Betty, he didn’t want to worry her, especially after what all she had been through. Daniel mentally debated whether or not to call her, however since he was only about five minutes away now- it had taken that long to listen to everyone else’s messages, in varying degrees of crossness.

He looked over into the back, seeing Anabel again fast asleep, though her hands often shot up into tiny starfish, since she had shrugged her scratch mitts off. They didn’t have any spare clothing, apart from some designer stuff that Amanda has sent over- gender specific but two sets of clothing since they didn’t know Andrew was going to be a boy. He sighed, knowing he was going to have to correct that when he got home, but there was the matter of Anabel’s big reveal.

Betty had expressively told him that she was happy for Daniel to support Ella and Ella’s child, although she had also told him that neither were coming near their family, especially if they tried to contact matt. Daniel hoped Betty wouldn’t mind Anabel being in their family, the little girl had no biological mother, he needed to be there for her. Daniel eventually parked outside Betty’s house in queens, waiting and trying to decide the moment he would walk through the door with Anabel in his arms, but didn’t she say about bringing in Andrew’s car seat? He could bring Anabel into the house if she was in that, which she was, all tucked up with her pink blanket. He felt his face softening at the sight, just like when he saw Andrew.

He got out of the driver’s side, ready to do what sounded simple when anyone explained it to you, but took about an hour to do, and detach the car seat from the car. But, just as he opened the door to reach Anabel something… or more accurately someone flung themselves at him. It was Betty, wearing what she had been that morning, a black blouse and a long, striped skirt down to her ankles. She hugged him so tightly around his midsection, leaving him to around, able to see Betty sobbing into his shirt.

“Betty, hey- calm down, sweetie!” he said, his strong arms encircling her and hugging her closer to him.

“are you really alright? Daniel, I was so scared! I didn’t know where you went… I thought you were dead, or matt had gotten you!” she kept sobbing and hugging him, eventually that turned to her punching his chest with her fists, more in upset than anger. He caught her hands before she winded him, bringing them back around to his side, instead of letting them hang loosely as they often did when she was defeated.

“hey, less of the hitting. Back to the hugging, I like the hugging.” Daniel said, smelling Betty’s hair because you could do that when you are in love.

“why didn’t you call me Daniel? do you have any idea how frightened I have been? And Andrew wants his daddy!” Betty kept crying into his side, reminding Daniel of the open car door to his left, with Anabel inside, he craned his neck around, and thankfully she was still asleep.

“Betty, calm down okay? I will be inside in a moment, just you go ahead and I will detach Andrew’s car seat, okay?” he asked, pulling her aside and trying to direct her to the house, but she stood her ground.

“why won’t you tell me where you were?” she folded her arms over her chest, frowning at him. Daniel shifted uncomfortably, knowing he was going to have to tell the truth, but no until there was an appropriate reaction to him disappearing for half the day, and when he eventually showed up he said he was at the hospital all day. Any sane person would be a little bit concerned, even if Daniel was perfectly fine.

“well…” he knew he had to tell the truth, it might as well be where she could freely shout at him for scaring her instead of in front of ten other people who were doing the same thing. “I was at the hospital today…”

“what? Daniel, oh my god! Are you okay? Please tell me you are okay?” she started nervously talking, her hands shaking as well as her entire body, as she clung to Daniel like he was a life raft. He would have told her the truth, if the split-second time before Betty reacted was enough for him to speak. Betty did look offended when he moved her hands off of him, turning towards the open door. She may as well find out now.

“okay, so-,” he was still shielding Anabel from Betty, since he wanted to talk to Betty before revealing Anabel, who was looking as if she was about to wake up, her hands moving to grab onto the air by her head. “Ella has died,”

Betty put her hand to her mouth, the typical expression of shock. “what? Oh, what happened to her baby?” Betty said, her eyes beading with tears. For once Daniel was happy to give Betty very surprising news, as he opened the door wider, to show Anabel, who had woken up and was crying, but he couldn’t deal with that since Betty looked as if she was about to faint.


	26. Chapter 26 and Epilogue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty. 
> 
> This is the final chapter, and also includes the epilogue. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Daniel had just revealed Anabel, so he decided to give some facts about her, saying: “she gave birth three days ago, just hours after Andrew. This is Anabel, and she might be coming to live with us,” he said, lifting Anabel out of her car seat, swaddled in all her blankets, and now crying. She was quieter than Andrew, less bawdy, but it was just as heart breaking. Betty didn’t do anything but stand there in shock as Daniel held Anabel in his arms.  “Betty, um, can you get Andrew’s car seat? I can’t undo it,” Daniel said. He started to walk towards the house, as Anabel was still in his arms, he wanted to get her out of this wind.

Daniel did feel bad about leaving Betty to sort out the car seat, but as Betty was naturally good at everything, including the detachment of car seats from said car then it might be quicker that way. She eventually joined him on the step, ready to go into the house. “bobby’s sister has gone, as well as bobby, Justin and Austin, and marc, Amanda and Tyler.”

“I didn’t know Tyler was coming?” Daniel said, looking down at Anabel. Betty seemed to be looking anywhere but there.

“yeah, well, apparently, Amanda wanted her own baby daddy there- also Christina doesn’t have a problem with this Meade sibling,” Betty said, still not looking at Anabel, instead straight ahead as she knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer. Daniel was pleased it was now a diminished gathering, since it would be easier on the babies. He was excited to show Andrew his new sister.

“huh, yeah!” Daniel chuckled slightly at what Betty had said, knowing that he had to have a serious talk with Alexis at some point about what she did, and how it would affect their working relationship- but now was not the time. “Betty, can I make a bottle for Anabel, she is hungry?” Betty still didn’t look at them, although Daniel knew she couldn’t help but hear Anabel’s crying.

“sure, Hilda has a bottle warmer and steriliser.” Betty explained, moving her hair out of her face, a gesture Daniel noticed she did when she was stressed. Eventually Hilda answered the door, looking extremely cross.

“does anyone ever answer the door? So, it is left for the woman waiting to pop another kid out- wait, Betty did you give birth again while you were out there?” Hilda asked, looking confused. Daniel followed Betty over the threshold, and into the living room. They were getting a lot of strange looks from those in the living room. 

“no…” Daniel filled her in since he was the one holding Anabel, who was hungry. Betty disappeared from his side, as he noticed her going to the door. “erm, you know Ella-?”

“the one who pretended to be Betty?” Ignacio asked, but Hilda shushed him. Christina just looked confused, they hadn't told her about the whole kidnapping drama. Calls to Scotland were expensive and Betty thought it cruel to announce that she had been held prisoner by her insane ex over the telephone.

“yeah, well… she unfortunately passed away, and this is her and my baby-,”

“are you sure it is yours?” Hilda asked, folding her arms over her own large stomach, Daniel rolled his eyes. Hilda had even more against Ella, since she was the one who originally believed her. Now guilt had removed sympathy for the woman.

“Hilda, we did a DNA test, remember? and this poor little girl’s mother has just died. I don’t want to abandon her as well,” Hilda seemed to share the same view as Betty did on Ella, he just hoped Betty hadn't gone out of the Suarez house to drive away.

“fine, she is quite cute,” Hilda said reluctantly, looking over at the crying little girl… who had woken up Andrew.  Who was now screaming as well. Daniel handed Anabel to Christina, who gently cradled her, while he picked up Andrew. Andrew was fine, he had just been fed, and changed, but he was woken up, and took after Betty in that respect- by screaming.

“why is there a lot of screaming?” Betty asked, coming through the door with Anabel’s formula in her hands. Daniel breathed out a sigh of relief, Betty wasn’t going anywhere, or abandoning him… she was just going to get Anabel’s dinner.

“Anabel woke Andrew up,” Daniel said, hoping Betty wouldn’t get too annoyed that there were two screaming babies in the house.

“right, can you get him back to sleep?” she asked. The other people in the room had stopped staring at them, Hilda going back to eat her dinner, and Ignacio warming Daniel’s up in the kitchen. Christina held Anabel, who was still crying but stopped when Betty took her from Christina’s arms. Betty cradled the baby, her movements soft as she sat next to Daniel, holding Anabel.

“are you okay?” Daniel asked, watching Betty as she held Anabel closer to her body, Anabel still crying since she was hungry.

“yeah… I need to warm up Anabel’s bottles, but I don’t know how… so Hilda is doing it,”

“can you breastfeed like you do with Andrew? I don’t know if you can if it isn’t your baby?” he scooted closer, Andrew falling back to sleep.

“I don’t know, but she is my baby now. I don’t know if I will be able to explain this to her, but I am her mom. She doesn’t have one, so I promise I will be there,” she looked over at Daniel, who was alternating his gaze between Andrew and Betty, who was holding Anabel. Betty wasn’t looking at either of them, instead at Anabel, who had stopped crying, and instead was clutching Betty’s finger as if she couldn’t bear to let go. “she is so tiny, I mean… she is slightly premature…”

“yeah, she is, she had a low birth weight apparently, but enough to go home,” he cooed at Andrew, who had fallen back to sleep.

“I am glad she did. I see you bought an extra stroller, the one I wanted, wasn’t it?” Betty asked, rearranging Anabel’s blankets as Anabel snuffled against her new mother.

“mm, yeah… I just thought, we have one of each,”

“I don’t know how Christina is going to fit into the car,” Betty chuckled, toying with Anabel’s small hands as Anabel reopened her eyes, blinking up at Betty. Betty chuckled, this baby too had Daniel’s eyes. From across the room, outside the bubble of the new parents Christina laughed.

“nor do I, luv, but those babies are very adorable, twins huh?”

“considering both of their parents look the same, they might end up looking similar,” Daniel mused, letting Andrew continue sleeping in his arms.

“so, what exactly did go on?” Christina asked, she was sitting on one of the chairs, William was asleep in Betty’s room, while watching cartoons.

“well… it is an interesting story,” Daniel said, moving Andrew to a more comfortable position on his lap. Betty was still fussing over Anabel, as Anabel kept shifting, cross that she didn’t have a bottle right now.

“this I want to hear,” Christina smiled, as Daniel wrapped his arms around Betty’s shoulders and kissing the top of her head as they held their children.

“good, let me tell you,” Betty started as Hilda brought over Anabel’s bottle. They recounted the tale from the beginning, which involved Daniel getting stood up by his best friend.

 

3 YEARS LATER

 

Betty stood with Daniel in front of the bright white, repainted wall of their living room. Daniel had taken down all the photos as they waited for the photographers to arrive with all the photo equipment. It was all Daniel’s stupid idea, which is why all the photos from that particular wall were now on top of one of the cabinets in the living room.

He thought that they could copy something off of Pinterest, family photo style, despite that those things never work. All the pictures that Daniel had looked through and cooed over, Betty found the re-enactments of the real thing. Let’s just say the professional photos involved a lot less bodily fluids. Still, Amanda was coming and her perfect baby daughter would be all pink and pretty with Tyler, who was an actual model, and Amanda- who had done modelling for this special line of short women. They still required skinny people, just ones that weren’t six foot tall.

Their extended family wasn’t the only thing that was increasing, Betty had just given Anabel and Andrew a new baby sister. Neither of them really seemed to notice as they were three, and the same age. They did really think they were biological twins. Looking practically identical didn't hurt. But, today, it was the gathering of the Meade version of the clan, hosted at Daniel and Betty’s house.

Tyler, Amanda, and Angelina (Daniel hadn't slept with Angelina Jolie- hit on her, yes- but slept with her: no), and then Claire, Alexis, and DJ, not to mention Daniel, and Betty and their kids. But before the collective family picture, they would take pictures of just the kids. Daniel found this adorable one where they would put their newest addition: Liliana on a fluffy white rug, with her big brother and sister either side of her, wearing clean outfits, that actually matched instead of what (in their infinite three-year-old wisdom) they chose. The posing is what Betty and Daniel thought would be the hard part, but that was surely only when the renowned photographer showed up, even if he was a family friend.

“Betty, do you have a second, Liliana needs to be changed?” Daniel held up his new daughter as Betty swept out from being in the kitchen, holding a plate of rice cakes, with white rice as to reduce the mess that was bound to happen if they ate anything else. But also, this since Andrew proceeded to make his feelings on rice cakes abundantly clear in the next few minutes. Betty dejectedly put the remainder of them back in the box, taking Liliana from Daniel.

“why don’t you practice for the picture?” Betty suggested, having to wade through the baby stuff that was their house. Daniel chuckled, seeing how Andrew immediately flopped to the floor, already photogenic, even though he was the troublemaker of the family. Still, he had his uncle Justin and Alexis in his genes so it was unlikely that he wouldn’t have any natural camera talent. Anabel was another story, however and sat at the opposite end of the room, hiding behind the plant pot in the corner.

“Anabel, come on, daddy wants to take a picture with you!” Daniel called out to his daughter, hoping that she didn't decide to play in the soil because her clothes were actually clean for a change, and he didn't want another trip to the hospital watching the nurses laugh as he explained she had eaten the mud pie Betty had made for them in the garden.

“daddy, take one of me!” Andrew rolled about on the hardwood flooring, getting grins from his mother and father, but neither of them noticed Anabel at that point, who had toppled the entire plant pot. Well, at least it was away from her, Daniel thought. Anabel may not have been directly related to Betty, but her clumsiness seemed to be contagious since the kid couldn’t walk in a straight line without falling over.

Despite looking so alike, Andrew took after him more than Betty, the perfect four-year-old, who was a bundle of energy, but he was so smart, despite getting into trouble wherever he went. Anabel was practically his polar opposite, even though she looked like his twin. She was a lot quieter, her first word that wasn’t in baby speak hadn't actually been until she was two, while Andrew had said his first words at nine months. She was a lot quieter, preferring to cuddle up with her parents than run around at the soft play area where Andrew practically lived.

“oh crap!” Daniel went to retrieve the plant and set it straight again, only to have Anabel burst into tears the minute he righted it again. And for the life of him he didn't know why. Then the door opened and cliff walked in, marc behind him to see the scene. Andrew was lying on the floor, pouting. Daniel was trying to stop Anabel screaming because she had knocked over the plant again, while Liliana squirmed as her mother tried to put the pristine baby-grow back on.

Marc was smiling “see, this is why I don’t want to adopt,”

“just don’t adopt twins!” Betty said, in between gritted teeth as she passed Liliana over to marc and went to retrieve Anabel before she rolled in the soil in the middle of the tantrum. Marc grimaced at the drooling baby and handed her back over to cliff.

“no offence, just because she is sort of my niece doesn’t mean I am going to hold her,” marc handed the baby over to cliff, who shoved his photo equipment into marc’s arms.

“here, let’s do a swap, and did you marry Amanda while my back was turned to make this munchkin your niece?” cliff asked, looking confused at marc. Marc just scoffed at him.

“as if! Amanda won’t even get into a wedding dress until she has lost all of that baby weight.” Marc sighed, rolling his eyes at Daniel and Betty and practically the whole room.

“yeah, I don’t think she realised how _much_ her ass would grow.” Betty sighed, watching marc didn't drop the baby as he gave her to cliff as she went to retrieve Anabel from the bemused Daniel, who luckily focused on something else apart from Anabel’s tantrum.

“it doesn’t matter, I love your ass!” he smacked his lips appreciatively, rewarding him a gag from marc and Betty coming very close to throwing Liliana’s diaper at him. “what, I am showing a little love to my wife, reminding her that she is still very sexy,”

“liar,” marc not so discreetly coughed “she was never sexy and you would have certainly not told her that when she first started at MODE. Remember the:” marc made gestures to show all of Betty’s flaws, glasses, braces, hair. Betty rolled her eyes as Daniel kissed her on the head. Andrew had now gotten bored, as he wasn’t used to wearing smart clothes, and as Anabel was cradled in Betty’s lap she calmed down, and was only sobbing lightly into Betty’s shirt.

“right, enough with the insults. Why don’t you do a picture of big brother and little sister,”

“one picture of the real Suarez siblings coming up,” marc said, then covered his mouth at the horrified expressions of Daniel and Betty. It wasn’t that much of a surprise that Andrew and Anabel did end up looking so similar, it was almost shocking to know that they didn't have the same mother, not that either of them knew how to tell Anabel that Betty wasn’t her mom. The whole kidnapping tale was hard enough for an adult to understand, let alone a three-year-old.

Daniel was glad Anabel was too busy crying into Betty’s blouse to hear marc who immediately reddened. It was safe to say that cliff wasn’t the only one who looked like he wanted to hit marc over the head with the camera equipment. However, Andrew did hear them say that. “what does sibling mean?” Andrew asked, reaching for the camera equipment.

“brother or sister,” Betty said cautiously, as she lay back against the couch, cradling Anabel who looked as if she was about to fall asleep.

“Liliana is my little sister,” he looked towards Liliana, who was in cliff’s arms still. “Anabel is my twin,” he asked Daniel, who despite being busy resurrecting the plant nodded.  Anabel and Betty had gotten really close, Betty made jokes that Anabel was much more like her than Daniel, although she did feel bad that Ella wasn’t a part of Anabel’s life, even if in the end, she was a bitchy liar.

“Anabel is your twin. Now, help your uncle set up all the photos while Anabel calms down,” Betty said, looking at the relaxed toddler on top of her. Anabel had calmed down, so much in fact, that she was asleep. Betty sighed. She didn't mind this part, Andrew was a good kid, acting slightly older for his age because he was so clever, while Anabel acted younger than her three years of age, and there were a lot of spilled stuffs around the house.

“wait, Betty stay there with Anabel, I think that is a beautiful shot of her asleep on you,” Anabel did look like a little fairy, with her curls grown out to frame her face and big blue eyes. Especially now when she was wearing the white dress Betty had bought.

“then I will do one with Andrew, and Liliana before everyone arrives,” Betty yawned slightly, feeling as if she should be going to sleep herself. The twins were nearly four, but Liliana was only three months old so no-one really was getting any sleep, unless they lived in a different house.

After Cliff had taken the photos, Betty took the same shot with Andrew, who was a lot more fidgety than the now awake Anabel, fussing over how he wanted to play instead.

“Anabel, why did you knock over the plant?” Daniel asked, sidling up to his daughter as she sat on the couch, glaring at Andrew who was still on Betty’s lap.

“free plant.” She mumbled. Daniel raised his eyebrows, he remembered having taken them to the zoo when Betty was heavily pregnant. Betty, and both of the twins had been upset about the animals being in the cages. Anabel must have thought the plant pot was a cage too.

“no, that was its house. It would die if it didn't live there!” Daniel said dramatically, ignoring Betty who raised her eyebrows. Anabel nodded, happy that the plant was home.

There were times that Daniel thought it would be so much more difficult than he imagined, but Hilda had given them such lectures on what it was like with baby Justin that he thought their level of sleep deprivation was actually a luxury. Most of the time, even though matt was in a ‘secure facility’ (Daniel kept wondering whether or not he had bumped into Renee until Betty reminded him that it was mean) he still wanted to make sure that he could never try anything like that on Betty again. He regretted it, and felt sorry for Betty since she was slightly jumpy since the occasion, but he knew that if it hadn't happened then they wouldn’t have Anabel. He couldn’t imagine his life without her.

He met Betty’s eyes from across the room and grinned. Maybe for his newest job venture since he had conquered the world of advertising, he could write a book about what they went through. The strange kidnapping of Ms. Suarez, and how it changed his life for the better. He would just have to get Betty’s permission first.


End file.
